I'd Take A Bullet For You
by DisneyStar4Ever
Summary: Mordecai is shot by a mysterious figure, and falls into a coma for weeks on end. Margaret and Rigby head out to find who shot him, while Benson struggles to cope with the blue jays self. Mordeson/Mordaret.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_**For Kimball20, a true Mordeson fan**_

Mordecai grabbed his coat and bolted out the door. Slowing to a walk, he put his jacket on, the cold snapping at his feathers. Today was the day he was going to ask out Margaret. After years and years of waiting, he had finally found out she was single, raising his chances of getting a date with her. Smiling to himself, he turned a corner, to see the coffee shop up ahead. This made him quicken his pace. He had left Rigby back at the park to cover for him. Benson hadn't known the blue jay had skipped work just to ask a girl out, but this was different. If he didn't act now, then she could be taken in a second. This was his only chance. He pushed open the door, the jingle of the bell catching Margaret's attention. Mordecai walked up calmly to the table, taking his usual seat.

"Hey Margaret"

The robin walked up with a notepad and pen in hand. "Hey Mordecai. Usual?"

He drummed his fingers against the table. "Actually, no."

She lowered the notepad, looking at him.

"I was thinking maybe me and you could...you know"

"I do?" She put the paper and pen on the table.

He cleared his throat. "Go...for...a...walk?" He stuttered out.

She smiled. "Sure, I'd love to" She took off her apron and walked to the back. "Sir, I'm taking my lunchbreak now." She called, already walking back to Mordecai. He stood.

"Be back in an hour Margaret. Eileen's off her shift today remember? We can't have a full line of customers waiting" He heard a gruff voice.

"Right. One hour. Got it" She called. Grabbing Mordecais arm, her voice lowered to a quiet tone. "Come on. Let's take that walk"

It was as if life knew Mordecai was planning all this. Everything was perfect, like in Mordecais dream. The sun was shining brightly behind small puffy white clouds, trees leaves brushed against their feathers, and kids all around them shrieked in excitement as they ran around the playground. He sighed as he looked around.

"So, why'd you wanna go for a walk?" Margaret asked casually, looking at the kids.

Mordecai almost froze in his tracks. He had forgotten why he had planned all of this, just enjoying the scenery had taken his mind away from it. It's amazing what things can do, he thought. Getting of track. He shook his head then smiled at her.

"Oh, you know, just to enjoy the scenery" He laughed nervously.

Margaret knew something was up but decided to leave it. She raised her eyebrow at his strange comment, since the scenery was just cars driving past and shrieking cars, but she left it.

They both walked in silence, watching everything around them as if they had never walked down the path before. But both had. And both their minds were running; Mordecai's with nerves and Margaret's with strange curiosity.

Margaret suddenly looked up. "Um Mordecai. It's getting pretty dark."

Mordecai stopped, looking up at the sky. She was right. It had gone dark. The night was dotted with stars, a crescent moon looking down on them. "Can't you stay a little bit more?"

"I have to get back to the coffee shop or my boss is gonna fire me. I better go'

She turned to go but he grabbed her arm. "Wait"

"What?"

"I..." He dropped his arm to his side.

She turned her body to face him. "What is it Mordecai?"

"I.." He sighed. "You know how I said I planned this walk to 'enjoy the scenery'?

She nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, well. That was a lie. You see, I.."

Before Mordecai could get another word out, he heard a rusting in the bush. Turning his head, he saw a figure jump out, black hood on, gun in hand. He raised his hands automatically. It wasn't needed. Margaret heard the noise before seeing the blood. She closed her eyes when the gun fired, her ears ringing. When she opened them, she saw the figure standing there, studying the blue jay. Margaret gritted her teeth and took a step forward. Seeing Margaret make a move, the figure ran. Margaret chased after it, heart thumping. In the cold of the night, she was sweating like mad. Panic, she assumed.

She jumped forward to attack the figure, but it vanished as soon as she landed on the concrete. Standing up, she looked up at the sky. It had...just...gone. There was no logical way to explain it. Her eyes narrowed as she thought about it. Then they widened when the realization hit her: Mordecai.

Sprinting back to the blue jay, she saw he was kneeling on the concrete, clutching his chest. She knelt down with tears in her eyes. He was staring at the concrete but when he felt her touch, he looked up. His face had drained of color. Scrambling for her cellphone, she quickly dialled 911. She stumbled over her word, telling them the information. They told her they would be 5 minutes. Nodding, she put her phone away. She swallowed, gripping Mordecais hand.

"It'll be ok Mordecai. You'll be fine" She rushed out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

He struggled to breath, his grip on her hand slowly loosening. One gasping breath took everything away. He collapsed on the concrete, his face pale, his eyes closed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no..." She repeated, each one faster than the last. Lifting Mordecai in her arms, she slowly took his hand away from his chest. Her breath hitched in her throat. A small hole caved in the blue jays chest, blood seeping out. She cried now, burying her head in his feathers, her tears mixing with the blood. "Please, Mordecai...please, don't go"

* * *

Margaret sat on the plastic chair, hands entwined. Panic swamped her as her dark eyes drifted to the door. Closing them, she shook her head, willing to look, anywhere but there. She had been a panicked, tired, scared mess when the ambulance arrived. She was surprised she could stand, let alone actually get into the truck. Clutching his hand all the way, she had silently cried, praying for the blue jay to live. Now here she was, waiting in a cheap plastic chair outside of Mordecais room, while little kids with snotty noses and tired mothers sat near her, awaiting the news of her friend. But she was afraid. Wanting to know the news was good and bad. Did she want to know? Course she did. Or did she...? Shaking her head again, her thoughts were interrupted with a tall figure opening his door. She looked up to see Mordecais doctor. After the previous events with Rigbys 'deaths'(see 'Over The Top' and 'Eggscellent') he had become their regular doctor now. His orange hair, usually scruffy, was a tangled sweaty mess. Dark circles were like makeup round his eyes, making his green eyes glint.

"Are you Margaret Haddard?" He was looking at his clipboard.

She slowly stood, her heart racing. "Yes"

He looked up at her. "It seems Mordecai was shot in the chest. Luckily, the bullet was near to the heart, not straight through."

She pressed her hand against her own chest, taking long deep breaths to calm herself.

"Unfortunately", he continued, flipping through his pages. She slowly took her hand away.

"The wound was so severe that we had to perform many surgeries on him. He has slipped into a coma, that will most likely last for weeks on end. I'm sorry." He bowed his head in condolences then went off down the hall, probably to fix to another patient. Margaret didn't care. Her head was swimming. Coma? Surgeries? Wound? Shot? So many words mixed in her head, it was hard to concentrate.

* * *

When she had finally made it back to her house, she collapsed on the bed in fresh tears. How long was Mordecai in this coma? The doctor had said weeks. But how many? Maybe it could be a month. Or two. Or a whole year. Or... She sobbed her heart out at the last possibility

...maybe forever

* * *

_**Yay, new RS story(again!) Why do I do this? I mean, I have so many more to write and...**_

_**Anyway**_

_**Pre-Warning: This story will be Mordeson(incase you didn't get the hint with the characters) so if you don't like, don't write. I don't write stories to get hate reviews :)**_

_**I know it seems like MordecaixMargaret at the beginning, but it's not. It will be Mordeson in later chapters, promise.**_

_**This story will be a little different, and by different I mean longer(maybe 15-20 chapters) because I plan to make it like that, with no stories to update or new stories to write. **_

_**The story will most likely be split into two parts(One: Margaret and Rigby trying to find the shooter. Two: Benson struggling to cope with the blue jay in a coma) But with most of my stories, I don't plan them out as they go, so this 'little warning' could be a lie... I may change it as I go, I don't know. All I know is that it will be Mordeson.**_

_**But don't worry, it won't be sex and shit, no. It'll probably just be a little kiss. Not hard out Mordeson LOL**_

_**I will update a new chapter probably every few days, due to homework from school and stupid projects, chores, days out...blah blah blah, you get it. **_

_**I'm looking forward to writing this story, so it may be better than the rest(maybe), excited even...**_

_**ALONG THE WAY, THERE WILL BE CLUES ABOUT WHO THE SHOOTER IS. **_

_**TAKE A GUESS IN THE REVIEWS!**_

_**Read and Review!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

She struggled to get out of bed as the memories came back. Mordecai. Shot. Coma. The words pounded in her head as she made coffee. Taking a sip, she headed to the shower. Not bothering to finish the drink, she left it on the counter. Standing under the hot water was all she could manage. Nothing mattered in life anymore. Mordecai had slipped into a coma, lasting for weeks, maybe months. It had been a short clarification, but it had given the robin enough information to know her friend was probably wouldn't wake up till 10 years from now.

* * *

As she pulled up to the coffee shop, she sighed. She contemplated whether to actually get out of her car or stay and get fired, but she ended up going in anyway. The first person she saw was Eileen, who was bright and happy as always

"Hey Margaret"

Margaret continued her usual work routine; apron on, get the coffee beans, sort utensils. As she moved around the back of the kitchen, Eileen followed, fiddling with her fingers.

"The weather seems nice, doesn't it?"

The robin nodded, as if on pilot mode, the moles words drowned out by the clashing of spoons against forks.

"So anyway, I was thinking. Maybe after work, we could go see a movie? You know, as friends?

She continued to ignore the small girl, grabbing a bag of coffee beans and pouring it into the machine, then dropping it when it was full.

"Oh, I almost forgot. The manager wants to see you"

Margaret nodded again then walked to her boss's office, her feet moving slowly against the smooth tiles. Sitting in the comfy chair, she stared at the mans furious face, concentrating more on his cruddy beard than on the words he was screaming out at her. The only one she managed to catch was 'fired' before she was pushed out the door and ripped from her apron. Dragging her feet to the 'sick bay', she quickly got changed out of her uniform and into a yellow shirt with blue jeans. Walking back to the office, she threw the uniform in, then walked out the shop with another sigh. Nothing mattered. She thought, getting into her truck and driving to the park.

* * *

"Where is he? He was supposed to be here an hour ago!" Benson looked at his watch, then at Rigby. Benson was standing in front of the house, clipboard in hand, checking off all the employees jobs. Everyone was on the steps, waiting patiently for their names to be called. Except they were all waiting for one person: Mordecai. "Rigby, where's Mordecai?"

"I don't know"

"What do you mean you don't know? You're his best friend, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I think so-"

"Rigby!" Bensons gumballs turned a dark red, his eyes flashing at the racoon.

Rigby held up his hands. "Ok, ok. Don't spaz out. I'll go find him" Rigby stood and ran into the house on all fours, before his boss could scream at him. After searching everywhere, his attempt at 'trying to find Mordecai' had been a complete fail. He sighed then slowly walked back outside. "I couldn't find him"

Benson sighed irritably. "Did you look everywhere?"

"Course I did. I'm not stupid"

Benson rolled his eyes then looked at the workers. "Has anyone heard anything of Mordecai?"

Everyone shook their heads, except Rigby, who walked down the steps, his hand raised. "The last time I saw Mordecai was when he was running out the door"

Benson almost screamed. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

He shrugged innocently. "You didn't say anything before"

The gumball machine felt ready to explode at the raccoons attitude, but he contained himself. "Ok, well, since Mordecai isn't turning up, we'll just go on with the chores list" He said calmly, keeping his mind on work instead of the annoying raccoon. He flipped through the pages on his clipboard. "Skips, you're-"

Turning his head, he thought he heard a noise. He was right. Squinting against the sunlight, he saw it was a red convertible, heading for the park. They all stood in silence, watching the car approach them. The car screeched to a halt in front of the workers, and someone got out the drivers door.

"Margaret? What are you-" Rigby started, walking towards the red robin.

Her eyes darted from worker to worker, the realization of getting fired and her friend in a coma finally sinking in her brain.

"Mordecais in hospital"

Benson raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"He was shot...in the chest" She felt a lump in her throat, tears threatening to pour. "By a hooded figure...they disappeared...and...and...oh, no.." She burst into tears, collapsing on the ground. Rigby ran up to her and slowly lifted her up. Wiping her tears away, and holding back a sob, she started again, her voice shaking. "Mordecai and I were walking through the park and he got shot in the chest. The ambulance took him away, and he's in a coma" She finished, beginning to sob again. Rigby just held her(she was kneeling on the ground), too shocked for words. Everyone was speechless. A heavy silence hung over the group, the only sound being Margarets crying.

"How long?" Benson choked out.

Margaret managed to calm herself, and raised her head to look at the gumball machine. "The doctor said a few weeks"

He nodded, the news silencing him. She stood up and looked sadly at everyone. "I'm so sorry to be the bearer of bad news" She said, looking at everyones sad expressions.

Benson raised a hand. "No Margaret. It's ok. We needed to know" He took a deep breath. "I'll report this to Mr Maellard" He turned back to the workers. "Everyone, take the rest of the day off. We'll get the work done tomorrow" Everyone slowly stood up and parted ways, leaving Margaret, Benson and Rigby alone.

Margaret wiped away the tears. "Well, I better get back to my apartment"

"Wait. What about your job? Is Eileen taking your shift?" Rigby asked her.

Margaret sighed, shaking her head. "No. I got fired"

"Margaret, I'm so sorry"

She shrugged. "It's ok. I'll just look for work tomorrow"

Rigby suddenly smiled. "Hey, I've got an idea"

"What?" Margaret and Benson both said in unison; Margaret with curiosity, Benson with suspicion.

"You could just get a job here"

Benson gritted his teeth in anger, but it faded when he saw Margaret smile. "Really?"

Rigby nodded. "Yip. Actually, you can start right now"

She grabbed Rigby in a hug. "Thanks Rigby. I'll be here at 8:30 sharp"

"Work starts at 8:00"

Margaret walked to her car, getting in the drivers seat. "Thanks. See you guys at 8:00!" She waved once before driving back to her apartment.

Rigby watched her go with a satisfied smile.

"WHAT THE HECK RIGBY?!"

Rigby slowly turned around to see Benson, his gumballs a bright red.

"Did you see that? Rigbys working his charm" He studied his fingernails absentmindedly.

'CHARM? YOU JUST HIRED SOMEONE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!"

Rigby looked up. "And?"

Benson sighed irritably, calming down. "I'm the boss here Rigby. What I say here goes. And since you just hired someone without my permission, I'm guessing you want to be the boss now?"

Rigby smiled, waving his hands in a 'no' motion. "No thanks Benson. I'm good"

"Good" He turned and walked away from the raccoon with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Margaret pushed the leaves in a pile, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She had only been her half an hour and already she had completed her third job. But they were easy jobs. Benson had assigned her with Rigby, saying the raccoon was the only one who could take care of Mordecai, since they're so close friends. And he had also given both of them the easiest jobs, saying that since they had just heard horrible news about their friend, they should do the easiest jobs from the list, letting them take it easy.

"How many more jobs do we need to do?" Margaret asked Rigby, who was jumping in the leaves. "Rigby!"

"What?" He lifted his head from the pile, spitting out bits of leaves.

She frowned. "We need to get this job done"

He sighed. "You're no fun." He reluctantly stood and snatched the rake leaning against the tree. "Killjoy" He muttered, raking the leaves in a pile again.

She sighed and helped him, finding nothing else to do. They worked in silence for a while, until finally, they had both raked two piles of multicolored leaves.

"Finally!" Rigby threw down his rake and started for the house.

Margaret dropped her rake. "Don't we have other jobs to do?"

Rigby didn't turn. "Yeah, but we'll take care of it later"

Margaret stood there for a moment, watching the raccoon head to the house, considering whether to follow him or not.

"Rigby, wait" She ran up to him, matching his pace. Still frowning, she put her hands in her jacket pockets, looking at all the brightly colored leaves fall from the trees. "Beautiful weather, autumn" She said absentmindedly.

Rigby nodded but didn't comment. Margaret glanced at him, waiting for a response. When she got none, she sighed, following the raccoon up the park steps.

"Yeah! High score baby!"

Margaret rolled her eyes as she stirred her hot cocoa, trying to ignore the loud irritating music coming from the tv. Her head was still swimming about last night. She had only told everyone the basics, not the details. But it didn't matter. At least everyone knew.

"Hey Rigby?"

The raccoon paused his game and turned his head. "Yeah?"

She looked at the small lumps of cocoa bobbing in the milk, then up at him. "How do you think Mordecai is?" She felt a sob rising in her throat. Already, the tears pricked her eyes.

He shrugged then went back to his game. Her eyes widened at his casual attitude. "Rigby?"

"What? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

She frowned at him, leaning back in the couch, the steaming mug of hot chocolate on the table. "Why are you so causal about this?"

He gave his full attention to her now, dropping the controller on the table. "Cause I've been in a coma twice and woken up to both of them. Mordecai will do the same"

Mordecai was speechless at his 'logic'. It was unbelievable. He really believed this. She sat up, knocking the table a bit.

"But...the doctor said he could be in a coma for weeks and-"

He waved a hand. "He'll be fine. The doctor said I might never wake up but I did after, what...a day?"

"Yeah, but-"

He turned back to his game, picking up his controller. "Stop worrying Margaret. He'll be fine" Pressing the start button, he continued the game.

Margaret watched him for a few moments, studying him. How could Mordecai's best friend suddenly believe this? It was true, he had been in two comas, and both he had woken up to. But he was woken from the people around him. They did something to wake him up. This...this was a bullet wound near his heart. Mordecai could never wake up, Margaret was aware. But it was like he was trying to convince himself that life was perfect and nothing could go wrong. She frowned and took his shoulders, not bothering to let him pause the game. A rush of anger went through her.

"This isn't a game Rigby. Mordecai, your best friend, is in a coma, which he could never wake up from! He may die, and you don't care? Just because you woke from yours, doesn't mean he could from his!" Her grip on his shoulders loosened as she burst into tears, holding her head in her hands.

Rigby slowly turned the system off, looking at Margaret's shaking sobbing form. He felt bad, he truly did. But he was convinced that Mordecai could wake up. It had worked for him, twice, so why not him? He had been killed in the other one so...

Placing a hand on Margaret's shoulder, he waited for her to calm and look at him. He smiled when she did. "We can't keep crying over him in a coma, Margaret. We need to do something"

She sat up, wiping her tears away. "What do we do?"

He glanced up at the ceiling, thinking. "You said that Mordecai was shot by a mysterious figure right?"

She nodded, holding back more tears at the memory.

"Did you see the figures face?"

Shaking her head, she sniffed, waiting for Rigby to continue.

"Did you see any trace of the figure, evidence?"

She smiled. "What are you? A detective?"

He smiled at her sudden humor. "No, but..." He clicked his fingers. "That's it"

"What?" She looked up at him.

"We tell the police about this. They're pretty good at finding killers"

His heart sunk as Margaret shook her head. "I don't want this to be local, too much drama. Oh and Mordecai's in a coma, not dead."

"He could be"

Margaret glared at him, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Sorry" He smiled sheepishly then began to think again. "So you didn't see anything of the figure?"

She shook her head.

"Anything unusual?"

The memory clicked in her brain and she smiled. "Well, I ran after the figure, and they just disappeared."

He raised an eyebrow. "Disappeared?"

"Yeah"

"Like, vanished?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes Rigby"

He fell silent. "Was the figure wearing just a black hoodie?"

"Yes"

"How tall?"

She shrugged. "I only got a quick glance at it. Maybe 5-6 foot?"

He nodded. She rolled her eyes at him then sat up. "We need to do some detective work"

"Where do we start?"

She walked to the door. "How about we start where me and Mordecai were at the other night?"

"Sure" He got up and followed her to the door, shutting it with a loud bang.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Meanwhile, a certain boss was having troubles of his own.

* * *

Earlier in the morning, Benson had called Mr Maellard to tell him the news. Maellard hadn't let him talk, instead ordering him to have a meeting in his office. Benson had agreed, feeling it would be easier to talk to him face to face instead of by phone.

Now here they were, both upstairs in the office, Maellard flipping through some papers, outlining Bensons progress as 'park manager', while the gumball machine sat nervously, waiting for Maellard to give his final comment.

Maellard looked up after reading through an employee comment paper. "What is this Beenteen?" His eyes narrowed as he held the paper up.

Benson sat forward in his chair. "What is what Sir?"

"Don't play stupid with me. This is that birds comment paper"

"You mean Mordecai Sir?"

"Yes, yes, Mordecai" He turned the paper round to face Benson. The page was blank. "Why has Mordecais comment sheet have no writing on it Beancan?"

Benson avoided his gaze as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "That's what I called this meeting for Sir"

Maellard slowly lowered the paper, waiting for what amazing excuse his employee had managed to come up with. "Oh?"

Benson shifted his gaze from the carpet to the old mans eyes. "You see-"

"Spit it out!" He slammed his hands on the desk.

"Mordecai's in a coma"

Maellard relaxed, settling back in his seats. His brow raised at the gumball machines words sunk in. "Coma?"

Benson nodded. "Yes Sir"

"How exactly did he get in a coma?"

He told him what Margaret had told the rest of them, watching as the old mans face twitched into concern.

"If the bird is going to be in a coma for weeks then, then we must get a new employee. We can't have this park dying on us"

Benson agreed with the man, though inside, he felt like slapping the man for his selfish attitude. "I'll get right to it Sir"

Maellard stood, walking to the door. "Keep up the good work Ballbucket"

Benson waited for him to leave before leaning back in his chair, sighing. He was such a selfish old man, Benson could hardly believe he still had his job by the amount of times Mordecai and Rigby had stuffed up. Mordecai.

He sat up at the name. How long had the doctor said he could be in a coma? Weeks? Geez, that was a long time. But what if he never woke up? What if he died without anyone knowing? Benson shook his head. Why was he so concerned for the blue jay? It wasn't like Mordecai meant anything to him. He was just an employee at the park, not a friend. Shaking his head again, he stood and walked to the door, opened it, and went downstairs. But he stopped when he noticed something...odd. Walking into the lounge, he realized two employees were missing. Margaret and Rigby

* * *

Margaret lead Rigby over to the park, the place her and Mordecai had walked before the shooting. Rigby knelt down at the dried patch of blood leading into the cracks of the concrete, while Margaret stood near him, waiting for the raccoon to work his 'charm' as he called it.

He finally straightened, hands on hips. "Yip, there's blood here all right"

"Well duh. That's what you've been looking at for the past 5 minutes"

He ignored her and began to run down the path, Margaret following. He soon stopped in his tracks. "Is this where you jumped at the shooter?"

She nodded. "Yeah. They just...disappeared."

He looked up at the sky, but all he could see were clouds. Turning around, he shrugged. "Yeah, I got nothing"

Margaret began to pace the concrete, thinking hard. She stopped, looking at Rigby. "Maybe we can go to the hospital"

Rigby raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because" She smiled now. "If we go, we'll see Mordecai"

"So we can wake him?" Rigby tried to continue.

Margaret shook her head and sighed. "No. You know how Mordecai got shot?"

"Yeah...?"

"The doctors must have removed the bullet from his chest"

"And maybe if we check the bullet-" Rigby suddenly caught on

"We can find out which gun the bullet belongs to-" Margaret said, smiling

"And we'll catch the criminal" They both said, grinning

Margaret turned and ran back to the park. Luckily, it wasn't a short walk, only about two blocks down. She ran up to her car, Rigby jumping in the passengers seat.

"Margaret, Rigby, what are you two doing?"

Margaret whipped her head around to see Benson standing in front of them, hands on hips. Her eyes widened, thinking she was going to get in trouble. "We...uh.."

"Don't worry Margaret, I got this" Rigby jumped down, standing in front of his boss. "We were just going to the hospital"

"Why? To wake Mordecai?" Benson asked sarcastically.

Rigby smiled. "Hey, that's what I said. Great minds think alike!" He saw Margaret frown at him out of the corner of his eye and regained his serious posture. "Actually, we thought of some evidence to capture the criminal"

Benson snorted. "Really? Ok, what'd you get?"

"Well, you know how Mordecai got shot?"

Benson nodded.

"When the doctors performed surgery on him, they must of taken out the bullet. All we need to do is ask for it, then go from house to house to find out who shot him"

Benson shook his head. "You can't go from door to door, asking random people if they shot a blue jay"

Rigbys heart sunk. "Why not?"

"Because they'll be freaked out. And with the bullet, the police probably already took it for evidence"

"Why would they do that? They don't even know who the killer is!"

Benson frowned. "They're police Rigby. They'll find out who did it"

Rigby chuckled then turned to the car. "Whatever Benson. We're the detectives here. We'll find out who did it"

"Good luck" Benson called as they drove away. "Idiots"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Benson sat in the chair Mr Maellard had sat in moments before and flicked through the files of 'previous park employees'. Maellard had told Benson to keep them just in case of emergency. He was surprised to find the old man was right, after pulling the stack of files from the draw.

"Jonathon Kimble" He shuddered at the memory, still in his mind. Throwing the paper down on the table, he got out a red texta and crossed his profile out. Deceased.

"Doug Shablowski?" The name sounded bitter on his tongue. He frowned and threw that one in the bin. "Not after the stunt he pulled" Benson muttered, flicking through the profiles.

"Susan, Chad, Leon, Biggs..." He threw down the papers in anger. "Why is there no one to employ? They need to be like Mordecai; trustworthy, loyal, a hard worker, good looking-" He stopped in mid sentence, the words replaying in his mind. Good looking? Where had that come from? Did it matter if the worker was good looking? And why did he say 'the worker needs to be like Mordecai? Did he really miss the blue jay that much to replace him? He smacked his head against his hand. No, no, no, no. He didn't miss Mordecai. And he wasn't replacing him. Or maybe he was. Mordecai could die...any minute now. Benson shook his head, ridding the thoughts. Closing his eyes, he sighed. What was going on with him? Slowly opening them, he saw the one paper that caught his eyes instantly. Smiling, he picked up the phone and dialed the number on the page. "Hey, it's Benson. Benson. Park manager for the job you used to work at? Yip...yip..yip, hey listen. A man has fallen down here and we need a new guy to take over his job. Would you be willing to take it?" He paused, listening for the persons response on the other end. "Great, ok, I'll see you at 8:00am tomorrow? Ok, great, bye"

He hung up with a smile then stood and walked out the room, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Margaret's breaks screeched against the driveway as she drove up to the hospital. As soon as the car stopped, Rigby jumped out and ran to the doors, Margaret following close behind. Both breathless, they stopped in front of the desk, where a tall young brown haired woman sat in front of them. Margaret took a dee breath and straightened.

"Excuse me Ma'am, we're here to see Mordecai Quintel"

The woman wore an expression of boredom as she looked at her computer. She tapped in a the name then looked back to Margaret. "Yes, here we are. Mordecai Quintel, floor 12 room 214."

"Thank you so much" They both half walked half ran to the elevator.

"Man, what a grouch' Rigby commented, leading ahead.

"At least she told us where Mordecai was" Margaret reminded him harshly.

Rigby frowned but didnt reply as they got in the elevator. Both fell silent as they waited nervously for the elevator to stop. When they heard the ding, it stopped, and the doors opened, revealing doctors and nurses bustling about with clipboards and files in hand. Margaret and Rigby began to walk down the corridor, invisible to the others around them. As Margarets footsteps echoed across the brightly dim corridor, she suddenly realized that, in all the excitement of finding their first clue, she had been oblivious that they were actually going to see Mordecai. Her face drained of colour and she felt sick, feeling the familiar lump rise in her throat. Rigby glanced at her in surprise. "Margaret, you ok?"

She nodded, feeling tears prick her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her, though it provided no comfort in taking the feeling away. Rigby suddenly stopped and slowly turned to a door marked MORDECAI QUINTEL. He stepped forward and grasped the handle, holding Margaret's wing in his other hand. They both moved forward in the room then froze at the sight of the blue jay. The door shut behind them.

He looked to be asleep, his expression peaceful, his chest moving up and down slowly. A blanket had been pulled over his body. Margaret shifted forward and sat down in the plastic chair next to the bed. Taking Mordecais wing in her own, she whispered, "Mordecai', then burst into tears, burying her head in his feathers.

Rigby went round, studying the blue jay. "Wow" He said softly. He suddenly noticed the large white gauze around his middle through the blanket, covering the wound. He took the blanket away from his chest, so he could see the wound properly, then, ever so slowly, he reached forward to the bandage.

"Rigby" A sharp whisper made him look up. Seeing Margaret's tear streaked face, he pulled his hand back. "What are you doing?" She was still holding Mordecais hand.

"I'm just going to take a peek" He slowly reached forward to take the bandage off, till Margaret smacked his hand away. Frowning, he dropped his hand by his side.

"We're here to get a bullet, not see a wound" She hissed.

He covered his body back up with the blanket. "Fine" Getting on all fours, he bounded over to the door, then straightened and opened it. Taking a peak outside, and seeing no doctors and nurses around, he quickly walked out before anyone could notice. Smiling to himself, he took a few steps away then backtracked when he realised Margaret wasn't following him. Looking back inside the room, he waited. Margaret was crying in Mordecais feathers, still holding his hand. "Margaret?"

She slowly raised her head then turned in surprise. From her emotional breakdown, she had forgotten the raccoon was even here. She slowly stood, loosening her grip on the blue jays hand, and followed Rigby out the room. When the door had closed, she sighed.

"You ok Margaret?" He asked, concerned for the robin.

She nodded, blinking back tears. He looked at her one last time before walking down the corridor. Margaret glanced at the door and put her wing on it. "Mordecai" She whispered. Then she lowered it and quietly followed the raccoon back to the elevator.

* * *

He sat in thoughtful silence, staring out the window at the shining sound. What was up with him upstairs? Why did he think all of those thoughts? Benson sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head against the couch.

* * *

"Ok, so where do we go?" Rigby asked the robin, who was looking at the buttons, her head swimming.

"We need to find Mordecai's doctor. He was the one who performed surgery on him."

Rigby nodded then, when the the doors opened, he ran out, waiting for Margaret to catch up. She felt sick after seeing Mordecais body after what had happened. As she approached the raccoon, Rigby looked up at her. "You wanna go home?"

Margaret shook her head. "No. I'm fine"

"You look terrible Margaret. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure"

Rigby raised an eyebrow at her pale, shaking posture, but if she insisted, she insisted. He shrugged then walked down another corridor, Margaret following.

"What does his doctor look like?" Rigby asked, glancing at every doctor/nurse they passed.

"He has orange hair and green eyes."

"Got it!" Rigby raced over to a table where a man was hunched over, organizing the utensils.

The raccoon tapped the man on the shoulder, making the man jump then turn his head. "Who are you?"

"It's me. Rigby. Remember? Egg challenge, arm wrestle"

The mans lips broke into a smile. "Oh, hey Rigby. How's it going?" He stepped forward to shake the raccoons hand.

"Good, good. Hey, me and Margaret were just wondering if we could have that bullet you pulled out of my friends chest?" He asked casually

The doctor nodded and pulled out a gold bullet, holding it out in his palm for Rigby to take. "Here you go"

"Thanks man" He took the bullet then scampered off, heading to the desk, Margaret following. Without a word, both ran up to the car, got in, then sped down the road back to the park.

_**Sorry it's a bit rushed at the end :)**_

_**N/A: Incase anyone wants to, they can request some Regular Show story ideas they want me to write. **_

_**I wont do anything sexual/yuri (Margaret/Eileen) or anything with Muscle Man or HFH. It can be tragic, romantic, adventure, mystery etc... (first four are the genres I prefer to write *hint* *hint*)**_

_**The reason I'm doing this: I just really like writing and you guys giving me your ideas would be a great help to boost my future career as an author :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Benson got up as soon as he heard the car outside. Walking to the window, he saw it was Margaret's car, Rigby sitting in the passengers seat. He watched as it stopped in front of the house, then he headed to the door. I hope Mordecais ok. Wait-what? He stopped in his tracks. I hope Mordecais ok? What the heck was going on with him? He shook his head, thinking it was just from stress, and opened the door. Margaret's eyes were red and puffy from crying, though she still wore a small smile. Rigby approached Benson with something gleaming in his hand, which he was looking at with bright eyes.

"What's in your hand Rigby?"

The raccoon looked up at his boss, as Margaret pushed past him and went to the lounge. "It's a bullet" He said, holding out his hand to show the gumball machine.

Benson looked at the shiny gold bullet in the raccoons palm and frowned. "So this is what you're going to take to door to door, asking people if they have guns in their houses which they shot a blue jay with?"

Rigby nodded. "Well, if you put it that way, then yes, I guess we are" He ran upstairs to the bathroom to wash the bullet, leaving Benson to shake his head at the raccoons immaturity. He shut the door then walked in the lounge.

Seeing Margaret slumped against the couch, he sat next to her with a sigh. "You ok?, he asked as sympathetically as he could.

Margaret sniffed then rose her head to look at Benson. She watched him through tear stained eyes, then swallowed. "Have you ever watched a friend die before your eyes?", she asked softly, her voice different from her blocked nose.

Benson fell silent, the memories rushing back in one huge swarm. His eyes slowly drifted to the carpet, where one silent tear fell. He nodded, then seeing Margaret still watching him out of the corner of his eyes, felt the need to explain. Still looking at the carpet, he spoke. "10 years ago, I was a master stick hockey champion. One day when I was practicing, I saw a young boy approach me with a flyer he had seen on a fence post, saying he would like to join me. I let him" He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing, "After a few weeks of playing against him, I saw a flyer on a dairy window, saying there was a stick hockey championship going on downtown. Me and the boy, Dave, decided to enter. I beat my opponent, but Dave..." He felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. "Didn't"

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he breathed out then leaned back against the couch. Margaret continued to watch him. "Do you think he'll wake up?"

Benson avoided her dark eyes, waiting for an answer, filled with tears. "He has to"

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. She shook her head. "Rigby says he will. He's trying to convince himself Mordecai will be ok, but-" She cut off, trying to stop the tears from flowing. -"When I saw him in the bed, his face, he looked to be sleeping, he..."

Benson shifted closer, placing a hand on her arm as she cried. He didn't really know Margaret that well, and trying to be sympathetic to someone you hardly knew was kind of awkward for him. But he tried to be as comforting as he could. "Don't worry Margaret. Everything will be fine" Great start Benson. He sighed and decided to continue. Two sentences wouldn't comfort her. "Mordecai is a strong determined person. He'll make it through" Why was he using Mordecai in this? "He won't give up on us, but if he dies, he dies, you know? Just, whatever happens, happens" Margaret sniffed and slowly looked up at him, watching him as he continued. "When I first met Mordecai, I thought him to be a complete slacker, along with Rigby." He diverted his gaze to the window, leaning back in the couch. "But I was proven wrong. He worked harder, respected me and actually became friends with some of the employees. I was going to promote him to deputy manager, but he began to slack off with Rigby, and my hope in him faded slightly, though I still watched him" He paused, his gaze drifting to Margaret, to see the robin looking at him in surprise and confusion. "What?" He expected her to ask about the 'deputy manager thing' but what she said next froze him.

"You care about Mordecai"

He stared at her for a moment, then chuckled softly. "No I don't. He's like every other one of-"

She smiled. "No. You do."

"No. I don't"

Margaret wiped her tears away. "Yes, you do Benson."

He scoffed and stood up. "Look, I gotta go check on the rest of the workers. See how they're doing."

She watched him leave then settled into the couch, knowing in herself, that deep down, the crabby gumball machine did have a heart.

* * *

As soon as Benson had walked down the park steps, he began running to Skips place. He wasn't heading there to check up on him. No. He was going there to ask why he was having these thoughts. He slowed to a walk when he saw the yetis place up ahead. Shielding his hand from the sun, he squinted his eyes to see Skips fixing his van. He smiled as he ran up to him. Clearing his throat, he regained his 'boss like' composure and waited for Skips to look at him.

"Benson? What are you doing here?" The yeti asked, his brow raised.

"I just came here to see how you were doing. Great work Skips" He turned to go, but stopped when he felt the yetis hand on his shoulder. Turning back, his gaze locked with Skips.

Skips dropped his hand to his side but didn't break contact. "You're lying"

"What?" Benson said in fake surprise, something Skips could easily identify.

"You're not here to check up on me" Skips continued, finally breaking contact.

Benson sighed and looked from left to right before looking at Skips. "Ok, ok. You're right. I did lie." He glanced at the door. "Can we go inside?"

"Sure?" Skips became confused as he turned around and skipped to the door.

Benson hadn't said anything for a full minute, but Skips could wait. He knew Benson well enough to know he would talk eventually. The yeti lifted another weight, glancing up at the bed to see his boss's head down, looking at the carpet. Skips shook his head then slowly lowered the weight when he saw Benson raise his head. Skips stood and skipped over to him. He stood and listened to what he had to say.

"Since Mordecais been in that coma, thoughts have been running through my head."

Skips eyes narrowed. "What kind of thoughts?"

"Like, I hope Mordecais ok, and Do I miss him? It's crazy. Course I don't miss him. He's not dead." Benson scoffed, feeling the yetis penetrating gaze watching him.

"And just before, when I tried to comfort Margaret about him, I poured my heart out about myself, and I mentioned Mordecai in it. I just don't know what the heck is going on? He doesn't mean anything to me. He's just an employee." He stood and shook his head. Chuckling to himself, he looked up at Skips. The yeti wore no expression, his dark eyes full of wisdom. Finally, after a moments silence from both of them, Skips skipped forward, staring his straight in the eye. Bensons grin faded as Skips spoke, a slight chill running down his spine.

"You care about Mordecai"

_**Sorry for the 'long' update guys. Just been suffering from a stomach bug. Bleh!**_

_**Next chapter up soon :)**_

_**Read and Review**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Margaret turned her head when she heard footsteps. She rolled her eyes when she saw it was only Rigby. He jumped on the seat next to her, bullet clutched in his paw.

"How long does it take you to wash a bullet?" She said irritably, acting as if she hadn't just had a heart-to-heart moment with their boss.

The raccoon frowned and looked at her. "How long does it take you to shower?" He asked sarcastically.

The robin fell silent, glaring at Rigby. He ignored her and uncurled his fist, revealing the golden bullet, now washed and cleaned. "Ok, now that it's cleaned from the blood, we go take this baby to each and every house dotted around" He got up off the couch.

Margaret didn't move. "I don't know..."

Rigby turned his head. "What?"

"Maybe we shouldn't ask random people. I mean, don't you think that's kind of weird? Just going up to people's houses and asking if they've shot a blue jay lately?"

Rigby shook his head. "Stop saying it like that. You make it sound like a bad thing."

"It is a bad thing Rigby. What if someone called the cops?"

"And why would they do that?"

She stood now. "I don't know. Maybe cause they'd be freaked out from that kind of question. I know I would"

Rigby frowned. "Fine, sit there then. I'll do this by myself. Then when I come back with a grin, you'll know I figured it out."

Margaret watched him leave then sighed when she heard the door slam shut. _He'll be back_

* * *

He wore a dark brown trench coat with a fedora, feet bare. With a smart grin and grease running through his hair, Rigby walked up to the door, knocking on the wood with a confident fist. Stepping back, he took a deep breath and admired the small golden bullet in his hand. _I hope this works. _A creak of the door made him look up to see a young girl, probably aged 18, with long light brown hair held back by a light blue headband, a purple tank top and dark blue jeans. She opened the door fully and put her hands on her hips.

"Yes?"

Rigby held his hand out, showing the bullet to the girl. "Morning Ma'am. I'm Rigby. Do you recognize this bullet?"

The girl cocked an eyebrow but bent down anyway to peer at the golden object. Straightening up with a frown, she shrugged, looking at the raccoon. "No, why? Are you reselling it for more money?"

Rigby raised a brow at the girls smart remark. "Not exactly Miss. You see, I am from the secret service agency" He paused to pull out a fake ID badge, showing it to the girl. "And we here are investigating an issue that is currently being reported from town to town. You see, late last night, a young 23 year old blue jay was shot in the chest by a mysterious stranger with a black hoodie."

The girl shrugged. "And?" She clearly didn't care, though Rigby still persisted.

"This is a very serious case Ma'am and if you don't take this report in, I will be forced to report this to the authorities."

She frowned, stepped back, and slammed the door in his face.

Rigby pulled out a notebook and pencil from his coat and crossed **Lauren **from the list of names he had gathered in the past 10 minutes, thinking up all the people him and Mordecai had seen around the park since they had begun working there.

_Well, next name. _Rigby scratched his head, and walked up to the next house, the one with the long driveway. Knocking on the door, he stepped back, then glanced at the notepad to see the name **Sandra** after Lauren's.

Looking up, he smiled at the woman looking down at him curiously. She was about mid 30s, with short cut dark brown hair, a long sleeved pink top and bottle green pants.

"Can I help you?"

"Hello, I'm Rigby, a detective for the grand agency"

The woman leant against the doorway. "I'm not sure an agency like that exists"

"Yeah, yeah. You wouldn't happen to recognize this bullet would you?" He held out his palm, the womans eyes moving in confusion.

"How could I recognize a bullet? There are a million like this one"

Rigby frowned and glanced down at the bullet. Seeing the woman was right, he decided to wing it.

"This bullet isn't any bullet. It belongs to a gun"

She frowned, and stepped back slightly. "Oh yeah? Which gun?"

He fell silent, prompting the woman to do the same as the girl; slam the door in his face. Frowning, he went up to the next house, then the next, then the next.

This went on for about an hour, each one slamming the door in his face. It was getting to about 4:30 and so far, he had gotten no information, only what Margaret had said; 5 foot in height with a black hoodie. And the only clue: a golden bullet. And the figure had also vanished, as Margaret had said.

He turned and trudged back to the park, hands in pockets, hat dipped low. A few rain drops fell on his hat, forcing him to run to the park. Out of nowhere, a lightning bolt struck in front of him. He shrieked and rushed to the park. By the time he made it to the gates, the rain was pelting down, hard. He sprinted to the the steps, ran up to the door and rushed inside, just in time for another lightning bolt to strike. Breathless from running, he peeled off his coat and hat and slowly walked to the lounge, only to find Margaret sitting there, sipping hot cocoa.

"Hey Margaret" He said bitterly.

With a smile, she turned, mug poised in her hand. "Hello Rigby. How was your search?"

He frowned. "I didn't find anyone who knew anything about the bullet"

"Pity. Too bad you didn't take my advice"

"Which was?" He glanced at her as she took a sip of her coca.

"That you shouldn't go out and ask random people if they've heard of a blue jay being shot"

He folded his arms across his chest. "Actually, I asked one person, not people"

She rolled her eyes, placing the cup on the table.

"It's a pretty heavy storm out there, right Margaret?"

She looked out the window then raised her eyebrow. "There's no storm Rigby. It's just sunshine and clouds."

"Huh?" He followed the robins gaze to see she was right. The dark clouds had gone, leaving only bright sunshine. It was as if the storm had never been...

"So, what are you going to do now?"

Rigby turned back to see her lips in a crooked smirk, eyes on him. "That's basically it. I've crossed out all the names on the list so there really isn't anyone left"

"List?"

He nodded, stood, then ran over to the door. Grabbing the notepad from the jacket pocket, he walked back and gave the paper to Margaret. He sat down and watched while she looked at it. Finally, she looked up, a questionable look in her eyes. "Rigby?"

"Yeah?"

"Are these just random people you thought up in the last ten minutes of leaving the house?"

His eyes widened. "How did you know?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because you and Mordecai obviously don't know these people well"

"Yeah we do"

Glancing back down at the paper, she began to read. "Lauren, Sandra, Russell, Chuck, The Newslady, The Newsman, That Girl Who Works At Cheezers." She looked up with a lowered brow, to prove her point.

He snatched the pad back with a frown. "Fine, whatever. Like you could think of something"

She smiled. "Look Rigby, you don't need to get mad about it. It was your first attempt at tracking down a few suspects and you did pretty well. But here's a little hint: when trying to find suspects, you find people that the victim knew well"

"How do you know this?"

She shrugged. "My dad used to let me watch a lot of murder mystery shows. Educational, he called it."

"Ok, well, since you're the 'mystery expert', what do you suppose we do first?"

She grabbed a pencil from her pocket, ripped off the piece of paper with the crossed out names, and looked at Rigby. "First we write down a list of people that you and Mordecai know well"

Rigby paused, thinking. He told Margaret, who wrote them down. Soon they had about a page full.

"Done" Margaret announced, drawing a line underneath the last name. "Now, starting tomorrow, we go to the people and ask them questions about the shooting'

Rigby nodded with a smile. They were finally getting somewhere


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Benson froze. That's what Margaret had said. He decided to answer what he had said to the robin. "No I don't"

"I can see it in your eyes" Was all the yeti answered

The gumball machine walked over to the bed and sat down. Placing his head in his hands, he thought, about everything. But the only person that kept sneaking into his mind was Mordecai. He gasped. It all fitted together. The thoughts, the sadness he had felt in the pit of his stomach when Margaret told them the news, how he had wanted to slap Mr Maellard...it was all because of the blue jay. The one worker who he had admired over the years, but had never realized it till...now. Looking up, he saw Skips smile. Benson sighed as he stood. Walking over to the door, he turned slightly back to the yeti. "Thanks Skips"

Skips nodded. "Anytime"

Benson smiled then walked out, shutting the door behind him.

The bright sun shone on his back, a heavy weight lifted off his chest. He climbed the park steps and opened the door.

"Hey Margaret"

He saw the robin turn her head with a smile. "Hey Benson. How's it going?"

"Good" He walked over and slumped on the couch.

"You okay?" She looked at him, concerned.

With half opened eyes, he looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He sighed. "Seems you were right. I do care about Mordecai"

"Of course you do. You're his boss"

"Yeah, but," He paused. "I didn't think I would actually _care _about an employee"

She shrugged. "You don't have to treat employees like...well, employees. They can be your friends too"

"I guess. I just...knew Mordecai was different. Sure he slacks off, but he gets to work. It surprises me though. I expected him to be like Rigby"

She chuckled. "Aren't you glad he's not?"

He smiled, a tired smile. "Heck yeah. I'd probably have to fire him if he was like Rigby."

They both laughed, both knowing the raccoon was a handful when it came to anything. Benson sighed. "I don't know. Can I confess something?"

"Sure. Go ahead. The only people here are you and me"

"Where's Rigby?" Benson looked around, suddenly noticing the raccoon hadn't been here since he got back.

"He's out finding suspects for the shooting"

Benson nodded and relaxed, getting back to his previous question. "You know when you care about someone?"

"Yeah?"

"Ok, well, you know how there's just that 'sibling caring' where you fight then make up, but don't admit you care about eachother?"

Margaret kept listening, wondering where the gumball machine was getting with this. She nodded.

"Then there's that 'friend caring' where you just say 'I care about you. You're an awesome friend?"

She nodded again.

He sighed. "Finally, you have that-" He stopped.

"Have what?" Margaret asked gently.

"That-" He stopped again, feeling tears come to his eyes. "That you're my bro and I love you?"

She watched him, pour his heart out in front of her. She knew she was the only one who had seen Benson cry. And it broke her heart. She was like his little secret keeper, as if he could only confess what he really felt inside to her.

"Well, that's the feeling I have for Mordecai. But not like 'bro love." He made a face then continued. "I just really care about him, different than how I care about Skips, Rigby, even Pops. I just never knew I could care about someone that much" He looked down at the carpet again, watching the tears slip from his cheeks, and fall on the carpet, creating a small pool of tears.

He sniffed then raised his head. Seeing her dark eyes watching him, he stood and sighed. "I better get home"

She stood and followed him to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

She smiled sadly then opened the door for him. He nodded a thanks as he stepped out the door. "You can take the day off tomorrow. Skips will cover for you"

"Thanks Benson"

He turned his head. "You're welcome" He turned and walked down the steps. Margaret watched him go, then closed the door. Walking back to the couch, she sighed sadly, her mind racing. _Now all she had to do was wait for Rigby._

* * *

Benson crossed the road to his apartment building and got into his truck. Starting it, he pressed his foot on the pedal and headed to the hospital.

* * *

The familiar scent of antiseptic hit him like a punch in the gut. He walked in through the double doors and looked around, seeing the little kids and tired parents, snobby nurses and kind doctors. Approaching the desk, he smiled at the tall brown haired woman. "I'm looking for Mordecai"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Last name?"

"Quintel. Mordecai Quintel"

She looked at her computer, and tapped the keys. Finally, she looked at him, her expression anything but happy. "Floor 12 room 214."

"Thanks" He frowned at the woman's attitude but shrugged it off as he stepped into the elevator. Leaning against the cool metal walls, he waited for the 'ding', then stepped out. Bright lights shone on his head, making him more nervous than he already was. He was thankful for the doctors and nurses ignoring him, as he walked down the brightly lit corridor. He looked from door to door, finding his room number. He stopped at door 214, took a deep breath, then slowly turned the doorknob and stepped in the room.

His heart stopped when he saw the blue jay. Slowly edging his way round the bed, he looked down sadly at Mordecais body, a lump forming in his throat. Turning slightly, he grabbed a chair and sat, keeping his gaze on Mordecai. A sad, heavy silence fell on the gumball machine, the beeping of the heart monitor cutting through his thoughts. He raised a small metal hand and placed it on Mordecai's arm, watching his face for any sign of movement. Nothing. A minute went past. Then five. Still nothing. Benson let out a sad sigh but didn't move his hand. His gaze slowly dropped to the bandage covering the blue jays wound. He let out a gasp, then slowly reached over, shifting the bandage, with his other hand, to get a better look. His eyes widened in horror. Never had he thought the wound would be that deep. Hot tears trickled down his cheeks as he covered the wound back up. He let out a sob before burying his head in his hands, crying silently next to Mordecai.

* * *

Opening his eyes, he raised his head, seeing the time was 4:30. He had been here 2 hours. Letting out a sigh, he slowly stood, glanced at the blue jay one last time, then slowly left the room.

* * *

_Poor Margaret, _he thought as he lay down in bed, _she held Mordecai's body when it happened. _He couldn't even imagine the pain she had felt, watching Mordecai slowly collapse in her arms. As soon as his head hit the pillow, all the regrets came back: the time when he ate Mordecai's and Rigby's burgers, when he had yelled at the both of them from that huge anger buildup, when he told Mordecai to shut up and threatened to get him a mentor when Muscle Man trained Rigby. It was a wave of regrets, crashing down in his mind. He felt like he had been punched in the gut, wishing he could take everything back. Feeling himself tear up again, he fell to sleep, before he could let out another fresh set of tears.

_**From the things that Benson regrets, here are the episodes:**_

_**1. "Best Burgers In The World"**_

_**2. "Think Positive"**_

_**3. "Muscle Mentor"**_

_**Thanks so much Bg52598 for giving me those ideas :)**_

_**Next chapter up soon guys :D**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"So, who's first on the list?" Rigby asked Margaret as they walked down the steps.

She glanced down at the paper and smiled. "Benson"

"Really? We put Benson on the list?"

"You were the one who said it"

"Yeah, but you wrote them. You could of told me anyway"

She sighed. "Its not even a big deal. These a just a list of people that you and Mordecai both know real well"

"Oh" Rigby fell silent as they walked through the gates. Margaret smiled but suddenly stopped when it hit her; they couldn't interview Benson. He'll be too distraught from the question.

Margaret turned to Rigby and glanced at the paper. "How about we interview Skips?"

"What? I thought we were going to ask Benson?" Rigby looked at the robin in confusion.

"Yeah, but, maybe he'll yell at us. You know, for waking him up. It's only half past seven in the morning."

Rigby paused to think about the robins words. After a few moments, he nodded. "Ok, Bensons ruled out. Skips huh?"

"Yeah." They both turned around and headed to the yetis place.

* * *

Margaret clutched the paper to her chest as she stepped up and raised a fist. "Skips?" She called, knocking on the door. She stepped back to hear the sound of a weight being placed on bars. Another moment, and the door opened, revealing the large yeti with a cloth in his hand.

"Yeah?"

Since they both knew him, Margaret decided not to lie. "Me and Rigby would like to interview you about Mordecais shooting"

Skips raised an eyebrow. "Why me?"

"Cause we're interviewing people who knew Mordecai well"

"Shouldn't you be talking to other people?"

Rigby frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Skips wiped his forehead with the cloth. "I mean, interviewing people who you think would be out to get Mordecai"

"But who would be out to get him?"

Skips shrugged. "I dont know. Enemies maybe?" He stepped back and shut the door.

Margaret sighed. "So much for 'mystery shows'

Rigby smiled at the sudden memory. "Looks like you were wrong. OHHHHHHH!"

Margaret frowned and slapped his hand away. "Shut it. Now, what we do next is-"

"How about I do this part Margaret. Since you got it wrong the first time, I better continue from here"

"You mean write down a list of people you think would be out to get Mordecai?"

Rigby paused and crossed his arms. "Whatever."

Margaret rolled her eyes as she gave the pad to the raccoon. He smiled, taking the paper. Ripping the page off, he scribbled down a list of previous enemies him and Mordecai had fought off. As he got down to the bottom, he realized there were more to go. He frowned, looking up at Margaret. "Is there anything else we need to check off?"

Margaret thought back to the other night, with the shooting. "Who would really hate Mordecai?"

"I don't think anyone could. He's a cool guy"

They both fell silent, Rigby crossing off names, Margaret waiting. Finally, Rigby held up the paper in front of Margaret, most of the names crossed off so it only filled half the page.

Margaret smiled. "Awesome. Ok, so the first person we go to talk to is," She paused, peering at the page. "Peeps"

Rigby nodded. "But where do you think these guys would be?"

"The only place where all 'villains' go; Prison"

* * *

She stopped the car in front of the large stone building, the giant sign reading "San Diego State Penetentiary"

Rigby grinned, jumping out the door on all fours. "Come on. Let's go in"

He ran forward.

"Rigby!"

Stopping, he turned with a frown, seeing Margaret get out her door and walk up to him.

"What?"

"This isn't a field trip Rigby. It's a prison"

"No kidding." He replied sarcastically. He turned back with a smile. "Come on. I wanna get some free police stuff"

"It doesn't work like-" She stopped and frowned at the raccoon bounding towards the gates. "Nevermind" She said quietly, following him.

15 minutes later, they were inside the prison, following a guard down a long corridor, while a bunch of angry men and woman glared at them from their cells. Margaret and Rigby both gulped, keeping their eyes straight ahead. The guard on the other hand, seemed completely relaxed.

"So what'd you say you two were here for?"

Margaret shivered as she felt a mans fingers brush against her feathers. Out of instinct, she moved closer to Rigby. "We're here to interview some people, on this list"

The guard stopped. "List?" Margaret rummaged in her pocket and pulled out the paper. As she gave it to the man, she exchanged a worried glance with Rigby.

He frowned as his eyes drifted over the list of names. He gave it back to Margaret with a grim smile. "Most of these men either died from the electric chair or escaped. But some you can interview"

Margaret felt sick to her stomach as the guard continued, still with the smile. "Both of you wait in that room" He turned and pointed to a stone room with a dark blue door. "And I'll bring them in one by one." He saw Margaret's pale face and chuckled. "Don't worry. One guard will be standing in each corner of the room, incase the guy tries to strangle you or something" He walked to the end of the corridor then turned down a passage as Margaret and Rigby looked at eachother. Without a word, they went to the room the guard had told them about.

The room was small, made entirely from stone on the inside and outside. The only light provided was a small bulb dangling from a white wire stuck in the concrete. No windows or gaps. The only furniture in the room was a square table, two plastic chairs seated next to eachother, and one across from the two.

Margaret sighed as she sat in the gray plastic seat next to Rigby, the paper clutched in her hand. Like the guard had promised, four guards, one in each corner of the room, stood in uniform, arms crossed, staring straight ahead. She shivered, looking at Rigby, the raccoons head was resting on his arms. His head was down, as if he was sleeping.

"How could that guy be so relaxed?"

Rigby raised his head. "He's probably worked here for years"

Margaret snorted. "Who would work here?" She bit her lip, as she looked from guard to guard, waiting for them to comment of her question. They didn't, making Margaret relax. The squeak of the door made her eyes widen. Two guards, one a man, the other a woman, were standing either side of Peeps, their first suspect, both clutching the ends of a metal chain around the eyeball. His giant eye narrowed when he saw Rigby.

"Let me at him!" He leapt forward, but was suddenly pulled back by the guards. "That little rat blinded me for two months!"

The guards didn't release the chains, instead, they walked over to the empty chair, clipped the ends of the chain to the table legs then walked out.

Margaret watched them go till she saw the door shut, then moved her gaze to Peeps, who was glaring at Rigby.

She cleared her throat, waiting for Peeps to look at her. Rigby trembled in fear as he watched Peeps slowly, reluctantly shift his eye to the robin.

She smiled nervously. "Peeps is it?"

"Yeah, who's asking?'

Her heart hammered in her chest. Even though she knew there were four trained prison guards in the room, she still felt weak. "Margaret."

"Why are you here Margaret?"

"We came here to ask you a few questions about the shooting of Mordecai Quintel"

Peeps eye narrowed. "Mordecai..." He let the name hang in the air, letting Rigby remember that evening.

Margaret, knowing nothing about this, continued. "Mordecai was shot a few nights ago at 1935, at 'Rosedale Crossing' near the park. One single golden bullet was fired from a grey pistol, going through the left side of his chest, close to his heart"

"Why should I take on this knowledge?" He asked casually.

She frowned. "I'm giving you the information, leading up to my question, so you know what I'm talking about"

Peeps settled in his seat, prompting her to continue. "He is in a coma presently and has been in one since that night. The only clue we have here is the bullet, given to us by one of the doctors" As if on cue, Rigby held out a shaking hand, the bullet resting in his palm. Peeps looked at it for a moment.

"Do you recognize it?"

Peeps looked up at the robin, his eye pulled into a frown. "Why? Are you accusing me of shooting a man? Cause if you are..." He jumped forward again, at Margaret. She pushed her chair back immediately as two guards came over and tazed him. He fell to the ground, steam rising off him, his eye shutting slowly.

"Sorry about that miss" One of the guards, a dark skinned woman with black hair, said, smiling reassuringly at Margaret. "Since the accident with his eye, he's had a hot temper."

Margaret forced a smile as she watched Peeps being led out the room.

"Geez, what a loser. Who's next Margaret?" Rigby asked, turning to the robin.

She raised the list to her eyes. "Some guy called "Park Avenue"

Rigby suddenly jumped up, eyes alert. "Park Avenue?"

"Yeah."

"I remember him" He explained the incident to her.

She frowned. "If Muscle Man got fired, then why is he still at the park?"

Rigby sat back down. "Oh. Benson rehired him afterwards. Forgot to mention that"

The raccoon rested his head on his arms then raised it when his brain suddenly clicked. He raised his head and looked at Margaret. "Wait"

"What?"

He began to smile. "Tell me those clues again"

Looking at the ceiling, she began to remember. "The figure had a black hood, a gun, vanished in thin air, hates Mordecai, and is about 5 foot" Looking back at Rigby, she frowned. "Why did you want to know"

"Because." He paused, thinking it over. "The clues fit Park Avenue"

"They do?"

He was getting excited. "Think about it Margaret. He wears a black hoodie, he's about 5 foot, he vanished in thin air everytime me and Mordecai tried to get him and he doesn't like Mordecai"

Margaret grinned. "Perfect. It fits"

They both got up and went out the room. Rigby followed Margaret to the desk, where the guard who had shown them around was sitting, reading a newspaper. "Sir, we believe we have caught the shooter"

He put down his paper. "Really? Who?"

"Park Avenue"

"Huh?" They both turned to see Park Avenue being lead to the room by two guards. His hood was up, covering his face.

Rigby grinned. "Ha! Caught now, P.A!" He pointed a finger at the spray can.

"What?"

"You shot my friend!" Margaret glared at him as he slowly took down his hood.

"No I didn't. I didn't shoot no one man!"

"Save it P.A" The guard cuffed him, then led him down a corridor.

"But I'm innocent. Please believe me!" They heard his pleading wails as him and the guards got further and further away from the two. Margaret and Rigby both grinned, happy they had finally caught the guy, and also from solving their first mystery.

_**Yay! They've finally caught the shooter!**_

_**Now the stories finished :)**_

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_**Not**_

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_**Hah! You thought the story was over. Well, it's not. **_

_**Chapter 10 up either tonight or tomorrow**_

_**Guess In The Reviews!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Bensons eyes burned as he opened them, the memory of last night coming back. He groaned then swung his legs over the bed. Another day of emotional pain, as with every step he is reminded of the hospitalized blue jay. He leaned against the counter while he waited for the milk to heat up for his coffee. He thinks as he stirred the coffee in the hot milk. Taking a sip, he groaned and threw it in the sink. Not bothering for a shower, he took the steps two at a time and headed to work, his head pounding.

* * *

As he entered the house, he saw Margaret and Rigby both sitting on the couch with smiles. Benson walked in the lounge, eyebrow raised. "What are you two grinning at?"

Rigby turned his head. "Guess what Benson?"

"What?"

"We caught the guy who shot Mordecai!"

Bensons heart leapt and his eyes widened as he slowly sat next to Rigby, taking the paper from the raccoons hands. There, on the front page, was a picture of Park Avenue, handcuffed.

"Graffiti artist caught for shooting of blue jay" _Who comes up with these titles? _He smiled as he read the story. Even though they had caught the shooter, Benson still felt a twist in his gut. _Mordecai still wasn't awake._ Without thinking, he stood, and out of pure worry for Mordecai still being in a coma, he looked at Rigby. "Breaks over Rigby. Go clean the truck"

"What?" Rigby said in surprise, taken off guard from Benson sudden outburst.

"Go clean the truck or you're FIRED!" He pointed a finger at the door, his gumballs turning a light shade of red.

"But-" Seeing the glare Benson set at him, he sighed and bounded off the couch. "Fine, I'm going." Benson waited till Rigby had closed the door, till settling down in the raccoons seat with an exasperated sigh. "It's been almost a week and he hasn't woken." He muttered, looking out the window. "I thought that if they caught the shooter, then everything would go back to normal... He sighed again. "I guess not"

Margaret took a sip of her cocoa, choosing to stay silent. That is, until Benson turned to look at her. "How long has it been?" His voice soft.

She slowly put her drink down, and sighed. Retracking the days, she bit her lip. "About a week"

He closed his eyes, letting out a long, sigh. "He's never going to wake, is he?"

Margaret felt a hole in her chest at Bensons words. "Dont you say that. Don't you ever say that Benson."

"But what if he doesn't?" Benson cried, opening his eyes. He knelt on the couch, facing her. "Think about it Margaret. It's already been an entire week, and there's been no sign of him waking. He's going to die in his sleep, without anyone knowing."

Margaret let the tears stream down her cheeks. She shook her head. "You're wrong. He's going to wake up. He's just asleep, that's all"

Benson felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. He shook his head. "Stop kidding yourself Margaret. You and I both know there's nothing we can do know, except let nature take its course"

She let out a small choked sob, and turned her body, curled in a ball. Benson listened to her crying, watched her frail figure shake, before sighing again, standing up and walking upstairs, to his office.

* * *

Rigby dipped the rag in the bucket again, squeezed the water out on the bonnet, then rubbed the cloth onto the car.

_Why do I need to clean it? It's already cleaned anyway_

Frowning, he shifted to the front of the truck, and washed the headlights. _What was with Benson yelling at him?_

The raccoon thought as he moved around the car, re-washing it. _Since Mordecais been in that coma, Bensons been acting weird. He doesn't yell at me or Margaret to get back to work, Skips and Muscle Man have been taking over our jobs, and he's been disappearing a lot lately. I'm gonna go ask him what's up_

With that last thought in his head, he threw the rag back in the bucket, and walked up the stairs. He stopped when he heard someone crying. Slowly closing the door behind him, his gaze shifted to Margaret, curled up in a ball. As he stood still, watching her, it clicked.

Margarets crying.

_Probably over Mordecai still in that coma. _He thought, heading to the stairs. Taking them two at a time, he reached the top quickly, but stopped outside Bensons office door. Leaning his ear against the door, he waited for a noise, thinking if Bensons crying too, he wouldn't want to barge in and make him being yelled at. So he waited, for a couple of minutes at least, before pushing himself off the door. He needed to act causal about it, before asking questions.

Smiling to himself, he opened the door. "Hey Benson, I've finished cleaning the truck."

Rigby managed to catch a few tears glistening on his cheeks, before he dipped his head low, avoiding his gaze. "Good"

The raccoon suddenly became concerned at Bensons posture. He was definitely hiding something. He stepped forward. "Benson man, what's wrong?" He watched his boss turn and walk to the window.

With his arms crossed and his lips pulled into a tight line, one word answered softly against his concerned question. "Nothing"

Rigby waited a few moments, watching his boss continue to gaze out the window. Seeing he wasn't going to get anything else from him, he made a move to go. "I guess I better go help Muscle Man plant the orange trees"

"Wait"

He stopped, and turned, waiting for Benson to face him. Though Benson didn't turn, Rigby still stood still. "I.." He tore his gaze from the window, to rest on his young employee. "I care about Mordecai"

Rigby frowned. "Yeah, so? Don't we all?"

Benson shook his head, surprising the raccoon. "No. I mean _really care__"_

"Oh!" He said aloud. Then his face morphed to disgust. "Do you mean..." His voice trailed off as Bensons eyes widened.

"No! Not like that!" Benson shook his hands in front of himself, hoping Rigby wouldn't get the idea. "Not even close"

"Well?" Rigby shut the door then walked over to Bensons desk, leaning against the desk. "What do you mean, really care?"

Benson sighed.

"You don't love him do you?" Rigby asked, pulling a face, though a smile showed the idea to be hilarious.

"SHUT IT RIGBY!"

Rigbys smile vanished, and he frowned. "See? These outbursts you're making. They're just at complete random, and you vanish constantly. Not to mention letting me and Margaret take so many breaks off work. What's going on with you man?"

Benson pinched the bridge of his nose. He had to put this in simpler form for the raccoon. Walking over to the desk, he stood next to Rigby. "You know how you care about Mordecai?"

"Yeah?"

"What kind of caring is it?"

Rigbys brow lowered. "I guess 'brotherly love'. Why?"

Benson sighed. "I care about Mordecai. A lot."

"But you don't love him?"

"RIGBY!"

Rigby held his hands up. "Sorry, geez"

He looked down at the carpet. "Since Mordecais been in a coma, I've been worried sick about him. Crying my eyes out, poring my emotions out to Margaret, thinking about him. I went to the hospital the other night to visit him, and he looked so peaceful you said you caught the shooter, I thought he would wake up but..."

Rigby felt a deep sadness cover him. "I didn't know you cared about him that much"

"Yeah" He paused. "It's amazing with what you can find"

Rigby chuckled sadly. "Maybe he wil wake up"

Benson looked up at Rigbys kind, dark eyes. He didn't overact like he had done to Margaret. For Rigby, it felt different. Maybe because the two had different points of view in this situation. Margaret, fooling herself into thinking everything was perfect, and Rigby, finally understanding what had happened, but still continuing to believe the blue jay would wake.

"Maybe he will"

Rigby smiled sadly. "I'm gonna go help Muscle Man with the orange trees. You just...relax" He turned and opened the door. Benson waited for the door to shut, before letting out a long sigh. _What if he doesn't ever wake?_

A loud shrill ringing bought him out of his thoughts. Slowly turning his head, he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Benson, manager of the park"

The man cleared his throat. "Oh. Sorry. Wrong number" He pictured the man putting the phone down.

"Who's asking?" Benson asked quickly

He felt the man slowly bring the receiver back up to his mouth, hesitant. "Deputy Grundle from San Diego State Penetentiary"

When the man got no reply, he continued. "We've just been trying to contact a Miss Margaret Haddad and a Mr Rigby Salyers. Do you know of them?"

"Yeah. They're my employees"

"Are they with you at the moment?"

Benson paused. He was going to answer with yes, but stopped. He had just had a heart-to-heart talk with Rigby, and from what he knew, Margaret was curled up in a ball on the couch, crying her eyes out. He decided to lie. "No. They're out doing their chores"

"Oh" The man cleared his throat. "Could you pass a message onto them for me?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Benson listened on the other end, hanging on every word. His heart stopped and he dropped the phone. Eyes wide, he rushed out the door, leaving the phone unhooked.

"Hello. Hello?" The man sighed. "Dam phone pranks!" He hung up the phone with a slam.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Ok, before I continue to the next chapter, **

**NOTE: You know how on the first chapter, I said this story would be Mordeson? Yeah, well...incase any of you haven't gotten the hint; Benson cares deeply for Mordecai from now on, ok? There will no Mordeson relationship in this story whatsoever.**

**Feel free to leave this story now, since the hope of this being a Mordeson one has burned and died out, leaving you a depressed mess to curl up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa.**

**I'm so deep... -_-**

**Now, on with the chapter:::::::**

"Wait, say that again?" Margaret's eyes were wide, her mouth agape. Tears stains were on her cheeks, though she had wiped them off before. Rigby sat beside her in pure shock, staring at his panicked boss.

"Park Avenue didn't do it. I just got a phone call from this police guy, saying he was innocent."

Silence fell over the three for a while.

Margaret glanced at Rigby. "But. . . the clues. . . " Her voice trailed off, not able to believe all their evidence and clues failed to match the one person they thought shot their friend.

"They fit Park Avenue. . . " Rigby said slowly

Benson glanced from the robin to the raccoon. He sighed sadly. "I guess you two better get back out hunting for another suspect eh?" He trailed back upstairs, leaving the two alone.

"How could this have happened?" Margaret almost screamed. "The clues fit him only. No one else could of done it!"

Rigby sighed. "Is there anything else you can remember from that night?"

Margaret paused, thinking. "Everything I've told you is basically it. Black hoodie, 5 foot, grey pistol, vanished in thin air." She shrugged. "That's it"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Rigby"

He sighed. "Ok. I give up" He turned to face the tv and picked up the remote.

"We can't give up Rigby. We need to catch this guy"

Rigby ignored her and switched on the tv. Margaret rolled her eyes and got off the couch, walking to the kitchen.

* * *

A week later:

A gunshot was heard, followed by loud, piercing screams from fellow passerbys. Many crowded the unconcious figure, horror and shocked whispers gathering around quickly like wildfire. Soon, a police car arrived, bringing with it, two men.

The first man got out, tutting as he arrived to the crowd. Bending down, he peered down at the figure, noting the bullet hole.

"Another one Johnson. Why's it always gotta be the men?" The man asked his partner

"Whatta mean McKay?" Johnson answered in confusion, walking towards the man. The crowd parted, giving the two officers room.

McKay got a pen from his pocket and pointed at the bullet hole in the left side of the mans chest. "Since that blue jay got shot, this persons been going all over town, shooting people in the left side of the chest. And the strangest thing is; they're all men. There must be a link..." He muttered, scratching his beard. "Ah well. Better call the ambulance again"

Johnson knelt down to get a better look at the man. His orange mullet cut, down to his shoulders, was streaked with blood, creating a sunset look. Healthy fatty skin, now ridded of blood, pale as milk. A two piece orange mustache sat on his upper lip, stained with the blood used to make him shut his mouth. Not only had the man died from the bullet wound, he had also collapsed from being forcefed his own blood, only cause he wouldn't shut his giant gob. But the one thing that stood out most of all was his blood stained shirt. Two letters were printed in a bright yellow, mixed with dark red. F.E.

* * *

"Unbelievable. Another man shot dead" Benson said harshly, throwing down the newspaper.

"Hey Benson. What's up?" Rigby walked in the kitchen and sat in the seat across from his boss.

"Read this" Benson picked up his coffee mug as he tossed the raccoon the paper. Rigby picked it up, his eyes scanning the story. Eyes wide, he lowered the paper.

"Another one? That's like, the fourth one this week."

Benson held his head. "Yeah." _And Mordecai still hasn't woken._

A week earlier, since Rigby had decided to give up on searching for the shooter, Margaret had given up too, being too emotionally exhausted to argue. Benson hadn't protested with their decisions. He had been too distraught with the news.

In the days that had followed, more newspaper reports had come in, printed on the front page was the same thing: Man shot dead. But still, they had not revealed the shooter. It said police were still looking, the only clues they had given were what Margaret had said. The two only merely brushed it off with a frown, a worrisome glance, and gone on with life. Benson had tried to do the same, yelling at the two, becoming his normal self again, though it still pained him to know Mordecai was still in a coma. It lingered round the three every minute, second, hour, day. The dreaded feeling that the blue jay would never wake. Now since Mordecai had been shot, three men lay unconcious in hospital, alongside the blue jay.

Margaret walked in the kitchen with a bright smile. "Morning guys."

As she came closer, Rigby held out the newspaper to her. Not looking at the robin, he shook the paper. "Read this"

She chuckled at Rigbys strange behavior, but took the paper anyway, rolling her eyes. The smile soon dropped when she read the story. Numbness went through her as she placed it on the table. Rigby looked up at her with tired eyes. "Another one. Unconcious. This is.." She shook her head and walked out again, going to the lounge. It seemed the couch was her 'safe haven' now, where she cuddled up with a cup of hot cocoa and expressed her emotions through crying silently.

Rigby sighed, watching Margaret walk to the couch. "Poor Margaret. It must kill her inside to know Mordecai won't wake"

He heard a throat clear and looked ahead to see Benson sending him a silent glare across the table. Rigby blinked. "Sorry Benson"

"It's ok Rigby" He relaxed, taking another sip of his coffee.

Rigby fell silent, re reading the first sentence of the article:

_Chuck Featherstone, owner of San Diego Market Marterials, was found dead on the intersection between Rosedale and Mistin street._

"Just where Mordecai had been when he was shot. And the weirdest thing is: all these men have been shot in the same place, the same bullet wound, same gun, same bullets, all men."

"What did you say Rigby?" Benson raised his head.

Rigby dropped his gaze. "Nothing" He was starting to grow suspicious. He needed time. A lot of time.

_**Sorry the chapters so short. Update tomorrow!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

_The figure sat on the couch, wearing the signature black hood. It had been washed and cleaned, ridded of blood. A smirk grew on its lips as it polished the gun. Standing up, it chuckled darkly then raised the gun, pointing it at the mirror, where six photos of men were stuck. Small bullet holes surrounded the photos, reminisces of triumphant get aways._

_"Four down, two to go" It said, pulling the trigger. The photo now had a bullet hole in it, going straight through the glass.. "You'll regret the days you were born." It muttered, it's eyes blazing a dark red, aiming for the next photo._

* * *

"Hey Margaret"

The robin slowly turned her head. Tears tracked down her cheeks. "Hey Rigby" She said quietly.

"Can I please borrow that piece of paper with the names on it?"

She sat up, turning her body towards him. "Why?"

"Cause I want to keep searching for the shooter"

Margaret sighed and settled back. "Theres no point Rigby. The police have already got it covered. All we can do now is wait"

Rigby frowned. "But, I can do it. I can catch the killer"

She shook her head. "Don't even bother" She turned back around, staring at the wall.

"Can I at least have the list?"

Margaret pulled the paper from her pocket and gave it to the raccoon, without turning. He smiled and bounced out the room, out the door.

Rigby walked down the steps, looking at the list. On it were the names of people who didn't like Mordecai; all the enemies they had both faced. But he needed to work with something else. One clue couldn't help him. _Who doesn't wear a black hood?. _He pulled a pencil from his pocket, and crossed out a number of people. As he got to the last name, he realized he had crossed out all the names.

_Start again_

Ripping the paper off, he wrote down a list of people Mordecai knew well. Friends, enemies love interests over the years. Then, using another clue(5 foot in height), he began to put a line through some of the names. Looking over the list, he set out through the gates, satisfied with his work.

* * *

Hearing the door shut, Benson put his coffee down, and stood. He walked to the lounge, only to see Margaret crying. Over the days, he had gotten used to her being curled up on the couch. Both him and Rigby understood her pain, and knew she needed space, so they left her alone. Though she did get over the crying, Benson had still managed to find her in a ball, staring at the wall. He had given her a lot of time off, letting Rigby do her jobs, and surprisingly, he hadn't protested.

"Benson?"

He walked over to the couch, sitting down. "Yeah?"

She sighed and sniffed before uncurling herself. "He will wake up, won't he?"

Benson sighed and shifted in his seat. He hated how Margaret kept pretending life was perfect. It annoyed him how she hadn't understood how life works. Still, he smiled. "Course he will"

"Two weeks Benson. Maybe I should stop pretending, and go help Rigby"

"Where's he gone?"

Margaret closed her eyes. "He's gone out, searching for the killer"

Silence fell over the pair, as Benson stared out the window.

* * *

He raised a fist to knock on the door. As he stepped back, waiting, he glanced down at his list; **Ladonna. **Pulling a face, he looked up at the house, to see it had been decorated with glowing orange spray paint.

The door opened, revealing a tall woman with whipped blond hair, her clothes a black trash bag with orange spray paint.

"Yes?" Ladonna asked, putting her hand on the doorframe.

"Are you Ladonna?" Rigby asked hesitantly.

She raised an eyebrow. "That depends. Who's asking?"

"Rigby"

She slowly looked him over then pulled down her glasses. "Are you that blue jays friend?"

"I guess"

She suddenly smiled. "How is Mordecai?"

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Actually, he's in hospital and-"

"Hospital!" She clasped her hands together. "Oh, that poor dear!"

He nodded. "Yeah, horrible. I was wondering if-"

She burst into tears. "Excuse me. I have to go..." Her voice trailed off as she turned and shut the door.

Rigby frowned. _That was a waste of time._ Glancing down at his list, he smiled at the next name; **Jeremy****  
**

As he crossed the street, he looked up at the house. Wires stuck out of the roof, flashing lights covered the lawn.

He knocked on the door, and stepped back, admiring the lights on the grass.

"Hey"

Rigby looked up at the ostrich. He had a can of soda in his hand and took a sip of it, waiting for Rigby to answer.

"Hey...Jeremy?"

"Yeah" He tossed the can behind his back, as a short possum walked up behind him.

"Who's this Jeremy?"

Jeremy shrugged.

"I'm Rigby. Remember me? When Benson replaced you with me?" He asked the possum

The possum smiled. "Oh, yeah! How's it going?" He shook Rigbys hand.

"Kinda bad actually. Mordecais in hospital-"

Chads eyes widened. "What?"

"-And I've just been going from house to house, trying to find anyone who knows anything about the killer" Close to the truth, basically a white lie.

Jeremy shook his head. "Man that's horrible. I've heard about the killings. Terrible. Four guys already in hospital."

"So do you?"

Chad scratched his chin. "No. We're just getting prepared"

"Prepared?"

"Yeah. Since all of the killings have been men, me and Chad have been getting ready in case it comes and shoots us" He glanced down at his watch. "We better go. Our movies almost on"

Rigby nodded, and stood back as Jeremy shut the door.

He turned and walked down the path to the next house.

This lasted for about 15 minutes, with some people slamming the door in his face too nervous to answer the questions, or some thinking he was a charity case in disguise. Anyway, he hadn't collected any information again, forcing him to go home.

_**I know this chapter may not be good as all the others, and there is a good reason for that: Writers block!**_

**_Ok, next chapter will be up maybe today or tomorrow, depending if I have writers block...again...or if I'm in the 'writing' mood :/_**

**_Actually, I need a little help with the next few chapters_**

**_Writers block is getting to me, a lot, and I have no idea what to write next. I do know what will happen later on(like in chapters 15-16)_**

**_Thanks to Kimball20, Bg52598 and JessieLover, I do have a couple ideas for later chapters, but it's just the next(three, I guess), that I need help with. _**

**_Read and Review!_**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Thanks to Bg52598 for her brilliant ideas(thank you so much :) **

**I don't have writers block!**

**Now, on with the chapter:::::::**

Rigby sighed as he walked up the park steps. He opened the door, then shut it with a slam.

Margaret turned her head, and smiled when she saw it was the raccoon. "Hey Rigby. How'd the search go?"

Rigby frowned. "This is hopeless!" He wandered to the couch and sat with a sigh. "I'm not getting anywhere. There must be a link..."

"A link?" Benson asked

"This persons just going around shooting men. The first three ended up in hospital, but with the last guy, Chuck, the person killed him. But why kill Chuck? What did he do?"

Margaret shrugged. "Maybe Chucks just an evil person"

Rigby turned to face her. "No, no, no. There's a link. I know it." He paused, biting his lip. "Why would there be a reason to kill men?"

Benson blinked. He had never seen Rigby so determined in trying to find something. It was strange. "Why does it matter?"

"There's a link Benson!" Bensons eyes widened at the raccoons outburst. "Why can't you see that?" He sighed, settling on the couch. "It doesn't make sense." He muttered, head in hands.

Margaret looked at him and put a friendly hand on his arm. "Rigby, how about-"

He looked up and slapped her hand away. Frustrated tears rolled down his cheeks. "You don't understand do you? At any second, minute, hour, or day, it could be me or Benson lying in a hospital bed. I have to figure this out before we end up in a coma or dead"

Margaret and Benson both exchanged worried glances at the raccoons behavior, let alone his words, as he stood slowly and got off the couch. He walked to the stairs, Margaret and Benson watching him.

"If you need me, I'll be upstairs, tearing my fur out" He said in a low hiss before starting upstairs to his room.

The atmosphere seemed to settle without the raccoon there. Margaret breathed out a long sigh before holding her head in exasperation. "What the heck is up with him?"

Benson shook his head. "Maybe he's right" He murmured.

Margaret look up. "What?"

"Maybe they could go for me or Rigby next. I could be shot right now and-" He stopped in mid sentence. "Wait"

"What?" She slowly took her hand away.

"Before Rigby went off, he was in the kitchen talking"

"What? To you?"

Benson shook his head. "No. He was talking to himself. He said something...about the killings being in the same place"

"Same. . . place?" Margaret's eyes widened, when she suddenly remembered Mordecai. . . and the newspaper. "Mordecai was shot on the pathway near the park, right where Chuck was shot"

Benson stared at her. "And?"

"Rigby was right. There is a link."

Bensons eyes widened. "The newspapers..."

Both suddenly jumped up and ran upstairs to the attic. Rushing up the attic stairs, Benson went to a box, where newspapers from 1900s-Now were stored. Pops had wanted them to be stored, incase of a power cut, they could use the papers to help light a fire. Benson smiled greatfully at Pops thinking, as he grabbed a few newspapers at the top, from a few days ago. Papers about the shootings. Margaret peered over his shoulder, as the gumball machine flicked through it. Both their eyes widened and Benson lowered the paper, in a numb excitement.

"They were all shot in the same place"

* * *

Rigby slammed the door in anger then slid his back against the door. Hugging his knees to his chest, he rested his head in his arms. "Why is this so difficult?" He said. "I need more clues, more information" Looking up, his eye caught a box across the room. Standing up, he slowly walked to it. As he got closer, he noticed writing on the box.

**Mordecai and Rigbys Memories**

Rigby smiled sadly. After the incident with the egg omelet, Mordecai had gotten worried and stored everything of theirs from high school, into a cardboard box, incase one of them ended up in a coma, the other could look back and reminisce the good times. Rigby had scoffed at the stupid idea, saying only girls to that, but now he thanked Mordecai as he carried it to his trampoline and sat, box in lap.

Sifting through it, his hand caught on a cheap golden frame. He bought it up to his eyes. In the frame was a photo of Mordecai and Rigby holding up soda cans, smiling. Surrounding them were classmates, either drunk or high. Eitherway, it didn't matter, as Rigby was suddenly bought back to that final year.

_Colourful lights danced on the walls, witnesses of a high school graduation party. Crowds of people laughed at their friends, enjoying the moment as they skulled back their drinks. Rows and rows of alcoholic beverages scattered the tables, cigarette butts put out in the ashtrays. Loud, crazy music blared from the speakers._

_"Dude, this is insane!" Mordecai yelled over the rock song._

_Rigby grinned. "I know!" He began fist pumping to the music. "And to think you didn't want to come"_

_Mordecai gleefully smiled as he took a long drink of his soda. "So glad I did!"_

_Rigby giggled and began singing along with the lyrics. Mordecai burst out laughing at his friends terrible voice, spraying soda everywhere. _

_"Hey! Take a pic?" Yelled a voice_

_Mordecai and Rigby were suddenly crowded by students from their classes. Rigby stopped singing and faced the camera. Both boys put on happy grins as the camera flashed, capturing the moment._

Rigby sighed as he dropped the photo back in the box. His eye caught a red and white ribbon. The moment they had graduated from junior high.

_"Rigby Salyers" The principal said into the microphone. Claps and cheers echoed around the room. Mordecai did the thumbs up as he got up and walked to the stage. After shaking the principals hand, Rigby stood in the line with the other graduates. He stuck out his tongue at Mordecai, who in turn held back a laugh._

_"Mordecai Quintel"_

_Some girls screamed out "Go Mordecai!" as he stood up and walked to the stage. The clapping and cheering was louder, defeaning even, as he shook the principals hand. Though Mordecai was popular, he stuck with Rigby. Mordecai passed a told-you-I'm-going-to-graduate smirk as he stood next his friend. Rigby silently nudged him, causing the blue jay to nudge him back. This turned into a nudge-your-friend-while-the-principal-isn't-looking game. Soon, the two were in a giggling heap on the stage, while the principal glared at them_

He laughed at the memory, then let the ribbon drop. His eye caught a small lipstick tube, making Rigby giggle as he picked it up. The high school play.

_"You have to dress up as a girl for the play?" Rigby burst out laughing at the thought, clutching his stomach, tears rolling his cheeks. "Oh man. That's rich!" He breathed out, before collapsing into another heap of giggles._

_Mordecai threw a book at him. "Shutup man. It was the only part left"_

_"You were that desperate?" Rigby slowly stood, clutching at the bedpost to steady himself, though a few giggle slipped out._

_He threw up his hands. "Hey, it's not my fault the stupid school put parts at random"_

_"Yeah, but. . . a girl" He snickered then fell on the floor in a laughing mess._

_"Whatever man." Mordecai left the dorm, script in hand._

He bit his lip to stop the giggling then put the lipstick back. Even though Mordecai had been a girl in the high school play, no one had teased him about it. Some actually respected him for it, saying a boy playing a girl in a high school play took guts. He earned a lot of respect from that role.

Rigby sighed then put the box on his trampoline, before standing up and walking out the room. It was at that moment, that he realized he missed Mordecai.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Hey Rigby"

Rigby kept his eyes on the tv. "Hey"

Margaret walked down the stairs and went to the lounge, Benson following. He had three newspapers in his hand, which he gave to Rigby after sitting next to him.

"Whats this?" He looked down at the papers and began to look through them.

"These are the newspapers about the shootings" Benson replied.

Rigby pushed them away. "Thanks but no thanks. I've given up." He picked up the remote and switched on the tv.

Margaret frowned. "But...don't you want to keep looking?"

"There's no point. I haven't found anything useful, and for all we know, Mordecai could die any minute. It doesn't matter anymore Margaret"

Both Margaret and Benson exchanged glances then looked at the raccoon, half expecting him to jump and and run out the door with another plan to get the shooter. He didn't.

Margaret sighed. "Ok. I guess we'll have to do this ourselves"

"Fine" He shrugged. "Doesn't bother me"

Benson and Margaret stood up, not glancing back at Rigby as they opened the door and walked outside.

* * *

"Ok. Go back over the clues" Benson asked

Margaret held out her hand and counted them off her fingers. "The figure had a black hood, was 5 feet in height, had a pistol, hates men apparently, and vanished in thin air"

Benson bit his lip, thinking. "And we have the other clues which are the figure shot the person in the same place and three men are unconcious with one being dead."

"There must be a link to the shootings"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...three are unconcious while another ones dead. But why kill one of them? Why not the other three?"

Benson frowned. "Maybe they did something in its life to make it not like men? And maybe Chuck did something worse than the other three to make it hate men?"

"Maybe...but it's just a hypothesis"

Benson nodded as they walked through the gates, into town. Crossing the street, and turning down a path, they soon found themselves near the park. Margaret grabbed Bensons arm.

"Wait"

"What?"

Margaret stared hard at the place, the exact same place her and Mordecai had been. Her grip on his arm slackened as she dropped it to her side. Both waited, Benson looking intently at the concrete, then glancing at her for any sign of a smile or movement. Her eyes stayed ahead.

"There" She whispered with gritted teeth.

Benson looked back to see Jeremy walking casually through the place. Nothing was happening. "What are you looking at?"

"Shush" Benson, realizing he wasn't going to get an answer from her, looked back at Jeremy with narrowed eyes. As the ostrich walked closer to the spot, they both watched a figure, 5 feet tall with a black hoodie, appear, gun in hand. Jeremy stopped and held his hands up out of instinct. Without a word, the figure pulled the trigger, sending a golden bullet straight through the left side of Jeremy's chest. Jeremy's eyes widened as he bought his hands up to the wound. His knees caved in and he collapsed on the concrete. No screams. No yells. The figure quickly grabbed a rag from its pocket, knelt down to the ostrich's level, wiped the blood, then stuffed the rag in his mouth. Jeremy didn't struggle. He lay in a bloodied heap, letting the figure do its work. Benson felt sick to his stomach, not tearing his eyes from the two. Margaret went a pale green, putting her hand over her mouth. She felt the need to look away, but she couldn't. As if she was hypnotized.

Benson swallowed the sick rising in his throat and jumped out. The figure immediately stood, turned, and ran down the street. Benson chased after it, anger blazing in his body. The figure went a sharp left, Benson hot on its heels. He was filled with blind rage as he followed it. The scene played through his mind. Again. Again. Shaking his head, he jumped, arms out to catch the figure...only to be met with thin air. His eyes widened. He slowly dropped his arms, as he looked up at the sky. Nothing. He blinked. This was crazy. How the heck did it get away? He stood up and dusted himself off, the scenario playing in his head like a film. He cleared his throat, then made his way back Margaret.

Margaret was kneeling over Jeremy, looking at him with sickened eyes. Slowly, she reached out a wing, and shut his eyes. She looked up when she heard footsteps.

"What happened?" She asked, eyes wide.

He sighed as he knelt down next to her. "It...was too fast. I didn't catch it"

Margaret closed her eyes, blinking back tears. She didn't expect Benson to anyway. Benson breathed out shakily, looking at Jeremy. "We better call the police"

Margaret nodded slowly. He pulled a phone from his pocket, dialled the number, told them the details, then shut the phone, putting it back in his pocket. Margaret took his arm.

"We just witnessed a murder" She said shakily, close to crying.

Benson got up, helped Margaret stand, then both walked back to the park. As soon as they walked through the gates, Margaret burst into tears. "We witnessed a murder" She repeated.

Benson swallowed thickly. "Yes, we did"

Margaret kept her grip on his arm as they walked back to the house.

The tv was still on, though Rigby had fallen asleep. Benson sighed then gave Margaret a comforting hug. "Try to get some rest ok? You've been through a lot lately"

She nodded, smiling a little. She leaned forward and kissed Benson on the cheek. "Thank you"

"What for?" Benson asked in confusion.

"For being there" She said softly, before starting upstairs to bed.

Benson breathed out shakily. All Margaret needed was a shoulder to cry on. He walked to the lounge, switched off the tv, then settled into the couch, his brain a confused mess.

_**Thank you so much bg52598 for giving me the idea for part 1 :)**_

_**Incase your wondering(cause you may be paranoid), this is not a MargaretxBenson story either ok?**_

_**Read and Review!**_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Blinking furiously, he finally opened his eyes to bright sunlight shining through the window. Another day. His heart missed a beat as he was suddenly reminded of yesterday. Standing up, he noticed Rigby wasn't next to him, and shrugged, walking to the kitchen. He fixed himself a cup of coffee then went outside.

As he stepped outside, he felt something underneath his feet. Glancing down, he saw it was yesterday's newspaper. Bending down, he picked it up, straightened, then shook it to get a better look.

**ANOTHER MAN SHOT DEAD**

He didn't bother reading the story, knowing it read the exact same thing as the others. Five now; Three in a coma, two dead. He cringed at the thought and sipped his coffee to clear his head. He let the paper slip from his grasp, thinking back to what he had said yesterday. _"Maybe they did something in its life to make it not like men? And maybe Chuck did something worse than the other three to make it hate men?"_

_The figure had to be a girl, _he thought, taking another sip of his coffee, _why would a guy shoot five men in the chest?_

He sighed as he finished his coffee.

"Hey Benson" A voice said

Benson turned to see Margaret walk up with a smile, wearing a yellow tshirt with a light green jacket.

"Morning. You ok?" He asked, concerned. Though Benson didn't know Margaret that well, he knew what she was going through and decided to be supportive.

She shrugged. "I'm not great, but I'm better. What about you?"

Benson managed a smile. "I'm fine." He put the cup on the rail. "Wheres Rigby?"

"I think he's out helping Skips with his chores"

"Ok. Well, I better go see how they're doing" He started to go inside, till she was stopped by Margaret.

She smiled nervously. For a quick second, Benson thought she was going to mention the kiss-on-the-cheek thing, but he pushed the thought away.

"I was thinking...that maybe we could..."

Benson blinked. Was she?"

"We could go to the hospital to see Mordecai?"

He mentally kicked himself. _Course she wouldn't mention it, moron. _Smiling up at her, he picked up his cup. "Sure." Walking back inside, he sighed. _Maellards so going to kill me for letting Margaret take so many days off. _He dumped the cup in the sink, then walked back to the door. Grabbing his jacket from the coat rack, he followed Margaret down the stairs to the truck.

* * *

Benson instantly remembered that first day as he walked through the doors. His stomach churned, and he felt sick again, glancing from children to parent. Margarets heart was racing. She hadn't seen Mordecai for weeks, and it made her feel sick. _What he was on deaths door? What if he died as soon as they walked through the door? What if he-"_

Her mental thoughts slowly died down when she felt a warm metal hand on her shoulder. Glancing down, she saw it was Benson, and she smiled.

"Thanks"

He nodded. "You ok?"

She made a face. "Sort of"

Both walked to the elevator, not bothering to ask the nurse for a 'Mordecai Quintel', since both had already been here. Though not together.

Taking the elevator to floor 12, they stepped out when they heard the ding, making their way down the familiar corridor, reeking of anticeptic and rubber gloves. Benson stopped at Mordecais door. Though both had gone through the door, Bensons hand still shook when he reached for the doorknob. Was it the worrying possibility of seeing an empty bed? He swallowed then turned the knob, heart racing. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Mordecai still lying there, monitor still beeping. The door shut with a bang behind them.

Margaret sat on the grey plastic chair and took Mordecais hand in hers. She didn't cry this time, having let it all out at the park.

Benson carefully made his way around the other side of the bed. Sitting in the other grey chair, he silently gazed down at the blue jays pale face. He glanced up at Margaret, to see her looking at Mordecai, brushing Mordecais head with her hand, whispering hushed words

It broke Bensons heart.

She really believed he would die.

Gazing down at Mordecai, he sighed. "Maybe I should give up too"

"What?" Margaret focused her attention on her boss, hand on his head.

"I know Margaret" He said quietly

Her eyes widened then softened as she looked back down at the blue jay. Stroking his head again, she didn't look up. Benson watched her, her hand moving gently across his forehead, the other holding his hand. He felt like crying.

"Any day now" She whispered. It was like she was petting a puppy, knowing its fate, waiting, any moment, for the monitor to stop...

Watching Margaret killed him inside. She didn't cry or break down. She carresed his forehead and, Benson noticed, she had loosened her grip on Mordecais hand.

She was finally accepting life.

Without a word, he slowly leaned forward and gently took Mordecai in a hug, nestling his head in his feathers. He closed his eyes, breathing in the air around him, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. He opened his eyes, blue and white blurring his vision. Raising his head slightly, he kissed Mordecai softly on the cheek, then stood, quietly following Margaret out the door.

_**...that was the most emotional chapter I have ever written. Honest, I felt like crying.**_

_**Killer revealed in next chapter, so get guessing...**_

_**Guess in reviews**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Skips sighed as Rigby threw down the wrench.

"No Rigby. Like this" He demonstrated how to connect the pipes, then looked at the raccoon, waiting for him to follow suit. As expected, Rigby crossed his arms.

"Nope. I'm done here" He turned and scampered off before Skips could call his name.

* * *

Rigby reached the house, breathless. As he opened the door, it became deathly silent, creeping Rigby out. Slowly entering the house and shutting the door, he tiptoed around the house, half expecting a ghost to jump out. Looking in the lounge and kitchen, he found nothing. He didn't dare to go upstairs though.

He slumped on the couch, exhausted. These past few weeks had tired him out. Comforting people drained him, worrying streesed him, investigating lead him down an empty trail. Sighing he decided to give up. The raccoons head was bursting with clues, except he couldn't connect them. It was like a puzzle. Puzzle. A burst of energy hit him as he smiled. Pulling the notepad and pencil from his pocket, and grabbing the screwed up bits of paper from the bin, he set them down on the table, smoothing the tatty pieces of paper out. Last of all, he grabbed the golden bullet from his jacket pocket and set it next to the last piece of paper.

Looking it over, he began to think.

The bullet could go. So far, he had found nothing from it. Picking it up, he chucked it in a nearby bin.

The first bit of paper had a list of people him and Mordecai knew well. That was a failure.

The second had a list of villains had encountered over the years. Dud.

Grabbing the pencil, he thought. First, he wrote down the clues on a fresh piece of paper.

**1. Wears a black hoodie**

**2. 5 foot in height**

**3. Carries a gun**

**4. Hates men**

**5. Vanishes in thin air**

Then, following the clues with the names, he began crossing out unlikely suspects for each. Dropping the pencil, he leaned back to admire his work. He smiled.

Only one persons name wasn't crossed out.

He quickly grabbed it then jumped up and ran to the door. Grasping the handle, he rushed out, and down the stairs. He stopped when he got halfway across the field. _Where did she live? _He found himself dumbstruck as he looked back at the paper. In town somewhere. Smiling with himself, he set off to town.

As Rigby stepped out the gates, he was immediately stopped by a black car almost crashing into him.

"Hey, watch it man! Trying to walk here!" Rigby yelled with a frown.

He stood still, watching the car. It didn't move. He lowered an eyebrow, confused. The doors of the car opened then two men in black suits walked out. They wore dark sunglasses, though the sun was shining. The men were walking towards him. Rigby didn't move. The two suddenly grabbed his arms and carried him back to the car.

"What the H guys! Put me down!" He was interrupted by one of the men shoving a gag in his mouth. Rigby kicked and thrashed around, sadly having no affect. He was thrown into the back seat of the car and could only watch as the men got in the front seats. Before he knew it, there was another man in the back seat, holding a gun to his neck

"Kick one more time, you die" The man growled, pressing the gun against his skin.

Rigby nodded, his eyes wide. Sweat beaded down his fur, as he sat still, not daring to even move a muscle. As the car turned a sharp corner, Rigby was knocked against the car door. His heart thudded as the realization suddenly hit him. _He had __moved. _He felt a blunt object knock against his skull before falling unconscious.

* * *

His head hurt like heck. Groaning, he reached for his head...to feel it had been covered in a sack. Confusion smacked him and he began to panic, thrashing around. Claustrophobia was his worst fear, next to the dark. A few moments of thrashing around made him learn he was not only blinded but also tied up in the strongest ropes imaginable. He felt ready to puke till he heard a noise. That shut him up. He sat completely still for what seemed like hours, his ears searching for another sound.

Nothing.

Then...

"Hey Rigby."

_That voice. . . it was so familiar_

"How's it going?"

_He had heard it somewhere, he just couldn't place where_

"How's Mordecai?"

At the mention of the blue jays name, it all came crashing down on the raccoons head. He stayed silent, but the voice did not continue.

After a few seconds, he could hear footsteps coming towards him, but he didn't thrash about. The sack was ripped off his head, blinding his from harsh bright light. He kept his eyes closed, blinked a few times, then opened them. A gasp escaped his lips as he stared at the figure in front of him. Her striped tank top had been shred apart, brown shorts replaced with black ones. Her mini boots. Abandoned for black high top chuck taylors. He smirked at that. But his eyes widened when they met the girls.

"Cloudy Jay?"

She smirked evily, then stepped forward and grabbed Rigby by the scruff of the neck. He could smell alcohol on her breath as she bought him towards her, nose to nose. "It's CJ. Got it?" She asked, venom in her tone, smirk gone.

He closed his eyes, whimpering in response. She threw him back then straightened, hands clasped behind her back, smirk aimed at Rigby.

"Where am I?" He looked around. The room was made of solid light brown clay, decorated with white fairy lights. The men who had picked up Rigby were standing in the corners of the room, incase the raccoon made a quick getaway.

"You're in a clay cave, a million miles away from the park" She answered simply.

"A clay cave? Is that the best you could do?"

She frowned, angered at such a calm reaction. "You're miles from the park" She said in hope.

"Yeah, but a _clay _cave. Couldnt you have done so much better?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I mean, seriously? Christmas lights? What are you, five? A rock cave wouldn't been waayyy more evil, or...I know...a brick cave. Perfect! Why don't you try that next time?"

Gritting her teeth, she waited.

"And with decorations..." He glanced around at the lights, shaking his head. "Definitely need some lasers in here. To spruce it up a bit you know? Your victims aren't exactly going to be impressed with the things you've chosen"

CJ balled her hands into fists and morphed into a cloud. Rising in the air, she closed her eyes, focusing on her object.

"Seriously Cloudy, I'm doing you a huuggee favour here"

"SHUT IT" A lightning bolt shot out from the cloud, the point burning Rigbys feet. He jumped in the chair, but considering he was tied up, he landed on his side, watching as CJ slowly calmed, going back to her normal form.

"And my names not Cloudy" She said, teeth baring. "It's CJ, runt"

"Hey, my names not-"

CJ glared at the raccoon. He frowned and shut his mouth immediately.

"Now that we have that settled," She continued calmly, leaning against the clay to face him. She smiled now, her arms folded across her chest, "Wouldn't you like to know why I did this?"

He shrugged. "Kidnapping me, killing those men, or burning my feet?"

She scowled at him. "The second one Rigby"

"Oh." He shrugged, not worried about the cloud-girl. "Sure"

Lifting herself off the wall, she walked over to the raccoon. First, she lifted his chair up straight, turned and fixed herself a cloud chair, then sat in it, smiling at Rigby.

"When I was 16, I had my first date"

He chuckled. "Your first date was at 16?"

She flashed a frown at him. "Don't aggravate me Rigby"

"Sorry, geez"

Smiling, she continued. "He was nice, sweet, handsome and rich. All in all, he was perfect. We had been going out for two years, till one day he told me he needed to tell me something important. Excited as I was, I went along with it, hoping he was going to propose to me. But no" Rigby saw a flicker of sadness appear in the cloud girls eyes.

"Meeting him outside the school, he produced a small velvet box. I was speechless as he got down on one knee. Then, in a flash, a bucket of green slime came down on me. It was a horrible, nasty prank. And I fell for it."

Clearly, we broke up the next day, but the pain still lived with me. Me being a foolish idiot, I dated again, and again, each with the same results. Some pranked me into thinking I had found the right guy, some treating me like shit and hurting me for years."

She admired her fingernails. "After that, I became to hate men"

He looked at her.

"I'm not over dramatic Rigby" She leaned forward, hands clutching the arm rests.

CJ rested back in the seat, calmly. "It was simple really. At the age of 23, I vowed my revenge on all the men who had made my life torture. The guys who had said they didn't love me or broke up with me, I shot in the chest to make them unconcious. And the guys who had pranked me or hit me, I killed them. Easy peasy."

Rigby stared at her. "You're crazy"

She shrugged. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. It's all in the eye Rigby. Whatever you see, you see. It's not your problem for people to judge you." She got up from the chair and made a motion with her hand. The chair changed to throne. Smiling with her work, she sat down, crossing her legs.

"Can you at least let me go, now that you've told me your story?"

She shook her head. "No way. I may be crazy Rigby, but I'm not stupid."

He held back a smirk. "Come on. Please? I won't tell anyone"

She snorted. "That's what they always say" She muttered

"What?"

"Nevermind." She avoided his gaze for a second. "If you're wondering why I kidnapped you, don't be afraid to ask"

"Actually, I'm not afraid of you at all." He looked around with a smile. "This place is alright, really"

She frowned. "Wanna hear it or not?"

He looked back at her, frowning. "Sure"

Just like that, a smile appeared, as if the frown never was there. "Remember primary?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

Her eyes narrowed. "New kid, 8th grade, Miss Jays class"

"Oh, yeah! I remember the new kid!" He smiled. "It was that loner cloud girl who..." His voice trailed off, as it hit him. His smile vanishing, he looked at CJ with wide eyes. "You were the new girl?"

She nodded slowly.

"Oh" He glanced at the wall, as a memory flashed in his mind

_"Hey Rigby, I heard there's a new kid coming to this class" Donny whispered._

_Rigby smirked. He loved it when a new kid entered the class. Looking to the door, he watched it open, showing the new kid. She was a cloud girl, small in height with her hair done up in a ponytail. Dressed in a red and white striped tank top, mini brown shorts and mini boots, she was obviously labeled 'New Kid'. __A light blush rose on her pale cheeks as she slowly rose her head to look at Miss Jay. Rigby snorted. He could take her easy. The usual routine of teacher, this is new kid, new kid this is teacher happened then, finally, she turned and walked down a row of seats. The row where Rigbys seat happened to be. Rigby stuck out his foot as the girl came closer. Suddenly, she tripped, face planting on the ground, as he books and binder went everywhere. Together, Rigby and his friends laughed and high fived eachother, before Rigby looked down at the girl._

_"Have a nice trip Cloudy?" He said sarcastically._

_The girl looked up, fury burning in her eyes. The raccoon was taken aback at the shy girls sudden change._

_"It's CJ" She hissed, low enough so only he could hear. "And don't you forget it"_

Rigby scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You were the very first person who started the entire chain of my dislike for boys."

He gulped. "Look, I'm sorry for teasing you all the way through primary. Besides, that was 10 years ago. Can't we just forget about it?"

She turned her head sharply. "No. I'll never forget about it"

Guilt clouded his mind as he thought back to that one year. He had just wanted attention, didn't all boys? Thinking back, he never thought someone would actually go around killing men for their sick pleasure, just hanging on one memory when they were 13. But one of them did. And it was that one girl who had kidnapped him, tied him up in her lair, and was now making him remember the key thing who made her who she was today.

It disgusted him.

In one quick move, he shot forward and grabbed her gun. CJ gasped and stood up, the two facing eachother in angered anticipation.

"So, you got my gun. What are you gonna do now runt?"

He glanced up at the cloud girl. The gun felt cold and unfamiliar in his furry paw, his mind running. He didn't know what to do now. Grabbing the gun was part one. What was part 2?

"You killed all those innocent men for your own sick pleasure CJ. Thinking they deserved the hurt they put you through burned your mind. You took it too far, and that's what made you the twisted phsycho you are now" He lowered the gun to his side.

"What are you trying to say runt?"

He sighed and dropped the gun. "All you wanted was a guy to like you for who who were. Didn't you ever think to look in front of you?"

CJs eyes widened. "Are you saying..."

He smiled and shook his head. "No. Not me. Mordecai. He's been in a coma for almost a month."

CJ stared wide eyed at the raccoon. "Mordecai?"

"He hasn't made any sign of moving, and all of us are predicting he'll be on deaths door by next week maybe"

Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I..." She lifted her hands and looked at them, frowning. "I never thought I would ever...I just wanted to hurt him...not put him in a coma."

Rigby walked closer. "By what I can tell, Mordecai was the only guy who actually saw you for who you were. He cared about you and respected you. But you pushed him away"

She shook her head, wiping the tears away. "He could die tomorrow. And it'll be my fault."

"Ok, go" A gruff voice yelled. Rigby turned to the clay wall, in time to see a boot kick through. Soon followed was a crowd of men dressed in black suits.

"There she is" One of them said. He ran to her, them grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. Fishing some handcuffs from his belt, he clipped them on her. She sighed.

"Mission accomplished men. We finally got her."

Rigby stared in shock at the scene before him. "Who are you guys?"

A tall blond haired man turned to Rigby with a smile. "We're the FBI, who have been searching for this young lady for weeks." He gestured to CJ, who was being checked over by someone. "And now, we've got her. Take her away boys" He said to two policemen on standby. As Rigby looked around the room, he saw the cave being tested for prints, the two bodyguards being handcuffed and, as his eyes settled on her, CJ being stood up and taken away through the hole.

"Wait" He called out. Ignoring the man, he ran over to CJ. "Can I talk to her alone?"

One of the men shook his head. "Sorry kid, but we need to take her into court before she does something else destructive."

Rigbys heart sunk as he watched the men lead CJ to the police car. When the sirens finally faded from the cave, he stood alone, feeling a low feeling of regret.

**_Yeah, it was rushed at the end. Sorry for that._**

**_Dont bash me if I didn't get the 'arresting' scene right, with suits, FBI, clues blah blah blah. I don't care._**

**_Only 2 more chapters to go till the end!_**

**_Read and Review :)_**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"I can't believe it."

"What?" Margaret lowered the newspaper from her eyes to look at the raccoon next to her.

"After all those weeks of shooting men, she's finally in jail."

She smiled. "Yeah, and you should be proud!"

"For what?" He frowned at her, resting his head on his hand.

"For tracking her down."

He sighed. "I didn't track her down. She kidnapped me."

"And now she's in jail for 12 years." Margaret finished, going back to her newspaper.

Rigby sighed again then got off the couch. "I'm going to get something to eat. Want anything?"

Margaret shook her head. Rigby went off to the kitchen, leaving the robin alone.

"Hey Margaret."

Margaret turned her head, newspaper in hand. "Hey Benson."

"Watcha reading?" He asked with a smile as he moved to couch. Sitting down next to her, he peered over to get a look.

"Read this."

She gave the paper to him. He read it, and his eyes widened.

"They caught the killer?"

She nodded.

"And it was CJ?"

Another nod.

"But...she..." He shook his head. "Do you know why she did it?"

Taking the paper back from him, Margaret shrugged. "Says here "It was from her past" but it doesn't elaborate well."

Benson sighed. He looked out the window, listening to the sound of Rigby smashing plates. His attempt at making a lunch. He looked at the kitchen doorway to see Rigby walk through with two plates, PB and J sandwiches between two slices of white bread. Sitting on the couch between Margaret and Benson, he munched on a sandwich, not even mentioning a hi to his boss.

"So, Margarets told me about CJ. Pretty good she's locked up now eh?" Benson asked Rigby.

He frowned, swallowing a bite of his sandwich. "No. Not good."

Benson raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?" Both him and Margaret looked at the small raccoon.

Rigby sat up. "She doesn't deserve to be locked up for 12 years."

Margaret blinked. "But...she killed those men."

"It wasn't her fault. Her psycho past was the fault."

Benson and Margaret exchanged glances then looked back at the raccoon. He fell silent, chewing on his sandwich again. Benson sighed and leaned back in the couch. Exactly a month had gone by since Mordecai had been in that coma. He still hadn't woken. Or had he? Benson sat up at the thought, then sighed, calming his nerves. If he had woken, the hospital would of called, right? He needed to check. Glancing at the phone, he shook his head. He was letting hismself get ahead. 'Course they would of called. There was no reason to check.

But he had too.

Maybe they forgot? Maybe they just didn't want to tell him?

He looked at Margaret, who was silently reading the newspaper. Should he bring it up to her? No. It would make her depressed again. Rigby? He glanced at the raccoon. Too much preassure. He needed to do this by himself. Benson suddenly stood up, shaking the silence that had grown between the three. Margaret and Rigby both looked at him.

"I'm just going to...check on...Skips."

Rigby nodded and went back to his sandwich, but Margaret watched him. He stole one quick glance at the robin, before turning and going to the door. Margaret settled into the couch with an uneasy feeling in her gut. She could read Benson like a book. During the emotional talks between them, Margaret had learned of Bensons feelings for Mordecai. She knew he was going to the hosital, yet she hadn't protested.

Why?

Because she knew he had to do this. . . .alone

* * *

Benson slowly walked down the steps, wrapping his arms around him. He felt an emotional sobbing hole in his chest. Making it to his truck, he got in, turned the key, and backed down the driveway. With the thoughts still running through his mind, he pressed his foot on the pedal, lurching the truck forward.

* * *

He practically ran into the hospital, avoiding kids and parents, doctors and nurses.

_I need to see him_

The words pounded in his head as he raced to the elevator. Pushing the "12"' button, he slowly relaxed in the elevator, ignoring weird stares and glances aimed at him for running in an elevator. With one silent glare, the looks immediately stopped, which Benson was greatful for, though the pain still lingered.

When the elevator stopped with a thud, Benson stepped out.

_Did it always stop like that? _

Walking down the corridor, his heart thudded and his stomach hurt.

_I wish Margaret was here. _

He shook his head to rid the thought as he turned the familiar corner. He needed to do this. But what exactly did he need to do? He stopped for a second...then carried on.

_I need to check on him._

Now he was convinced his paranoia was getting to him. He shook his head one more time before finally stopping at the blue jays door.

* * *

Relief washed over him as his eyes softened at the blue jays prescence. The pain finally vanished. But, still, he couldn't relax.

Edging his way round the bed, he still kept his dark eyes on Mordecai, hurt and fear swimming in his head.

Benson sat in his usual seat and rested his hand on the blue jays arm. Glancing at up the heart monitor, his stomach tied in knots when he saw it was faintly beeping. A small tear rolled down his cheek.

Gazing at Mordecai's figure, he suddenly remembered something from an old fairytale his mother used to read him. It was about a princess, who pricked her finger on a spinning wheel and fell asleep. At the end of the tale, her prince awoke her with a kiss.

_Maybe that could work._

Shaking his head, he chuckled at the absurd thought, then stopped, his gaze resting on Mordecai.

_It could you know. _

He knew it was crazy, but he needed to try, to see if it was possible.

Slowly leaning forward, he kissed Mordecai on the lips, feeling a sudden glow when their lips touched. He slowly moved back, then rested his head in his arms, crying his heart out.

"Dude, why are you crying?"

Benson slowly raised his head and a smile tugged at his lips as he slowly looked up at the blue jay, who was looking down on him, confused.

Benson threw his arms around Mordecai, tears streaming down his cheeks."I'm so glad you're awake." He said softly.

Mordecai gently took Bensons arms and pried his boss off him, smiling nervously at his reaction. "Thanks, I guess."

Benson wiped the tears away. "Mordecai?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm so sorry how I treated you and Rigby before. Yelling at you, screaming at you to do your work, getting all worked up at the slightest thing..."

"It's ok Benson. You're just doing your job."

Benson smiled. "Thanks Mordecai."

"No problem."

A few minutes of silence covered the two, both their gazes locked.

Benson suddenly became nervous, avoiding the blue jays eyes. "I...have to tell you something."

"What?" Mordecai asked curiously

"I. . ." He tore his gaze from the floor, looking at the blue jay. "When you were in that coma, I kinda had a meltdown."

Mordecai furrowed his brow in confusion.

Benson sighed. "I let Rigby and Margaret take breaks off. I hardly did any work myself. And I basically cried nearly every day over you. I was...a mess."

Mordecai was in complete shock. He was speechless. Finally finding his mouth, he managed to choke out "You cried over me? Your own employee?"

Benson blushed, realizing how stupid it sounded coming from the person. "Yeah."

"But...why? I mean. . ." He shook his head. "Boss's don't cry over their employees."

Benson chuckled. "I guess I was worried about you."

Mordecai felt his cheeks heat up as he glanced at his boss. A brief silence hung over the two, till Benson pulled Mordecai in a hug. "I missed you, Mordecai."

Mordecai became shocked at the sudden hug, but closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his boss. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

The two parted slowly, Benson not quite believing the kiss worked. He choked back a sob as he looked at the blue jay. It was...unbelievable. Mordecai had been lying in a hospital bed for a whole month, while the gang worried about him, and all he needed to wake was a kiss? From him? It was like an insane parody of sleeping beauty.

"Benson?"

Benson was suddenly pulled back to reality. "Yeah?"

Mordecai smirked a little, looking at his boss. "Aren't you going to call everyone?"

"What for?"

Mordecai chuckled. "To tell them I'm awake dude."

"Oh haha, yeah." Benson pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the parks number. Margaret picked up the phone (thank goodness), and Benson told her Mordecai was awake. He held the phone a few inches away as she let out a half scream half sob. Slowly bringing the reviever up to his ear, he only heard "We'll be there in minutes" till the phone hung up.

"Margaret's at the park?" Mordecai asked, wide eyed. He sat up. "What's she doing there?"

"Oh. Since you went into a coma, I talked to Mr Maellard about it and he said I needed to hire someone else..." _Oh god...Jeremy _Benson went into a few seconds of "shit, shit, shit, what do I say", before deciding to lie. "So I hired Margaret."

"What about her job at the coffee shop?"

Benson sighed. "Really long story. I'll tell you later"

Mordecai smiled. "So, is she going to be working there from now on?"

Benson smirked, looking over Mordecais shoulder. "You can ask her yourself Mordecai."

Mordecai turned his head in confusion. No sooner had he, then the gang burst through the door. Margaret grabbed Mordecai in a hug, almost knocking him off the bed. Around them, everyone yelled in excitement and happiness. Benson stepped back and watched the two.

"Mordecai."

"Yeah Margaret?"

She pulled back to look at him, then leaned her head on his shoulder. "You're awake." She said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Yeah."

She pulled back once more, but glanced at Benson. He nodded.

Margaret smiled as she kissed Mordecai. The two wrapped their arms around eachother, embracing in the most passionate kiss yet. Rigby cheered along with the group, wolf whistling and shouting.

Benson smiled as he watched the two. Blinking back tears, he joined the others.

_**Bleh! I know the ending was so fricken cheesy, but who cares? Not me. :)**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**One Year Later:**

Mordecai entered the San Diego State Penetentiary with a smile. As he walked through the gates, and down the corridors, he was greeted with 'hey Mordecai' and 'sup blue jay', which he waved at with a grin. He had been going to the prison for months.

And no, it wasn't for a crime.

He was here to visit someone.

Making his way to the familiar meeting room filled with desks and chairs, he walked over to the calling booths, where a crabby cloud girl sat, chained at the desk.

Mordecai sat on the seat, smirking at CJ. She narrowed her eyes but picked up the phone anyway.

"Hey Mordecai"

"Sup CJ. How's Mike?"

She frowned. "He's a jerk"

He feigned concern. "Why dont you break up with him?"

He chuckled, already knowing the answer before she said it. "Because he's unlike any other guy I've ever met"

"Woah slow down there CJ. You don't want to end up with more months in prison."

"What do you mean?"

He smiled, moving his eyes in a familiar manor. Her eyes widened, then narrowed.

"How dare you" She lunged forward, her hands almost touching the blue jay. "I'll kill you!" She screamed.

He laughed in response, chuckling at her through the panel. She growled as she was held back by two guards. "Ok Miss, we getter you back to your cell"

Mordecai watched in amusement as she left through the door, then he put the phone back. He stood up with a smirk, then walked out the door.

_11 years to go_

_**Well, there you have it guys**_

_**Story...finished :)**_

_**I'm a bit sad that it's over. After all, it is my longest story and biggest achievement in writing :D**_

_**Huge thank you's to:**_

_**JessieLover, Kimball20, bg52598, and Yinyangirl13 for the amazing ideas and helpful information. Without you four, I would have never been able to finish this story :) Thanks so much you guys **_

_**I would also like to thank the rest of my amazing reviewers for the advice and awesome comments on this story :D**_

_**Keep reading and reviewing my other stories! :D**_

_**Peace, Love and Cookies**_

_**DisneyStar4Ever**_


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